2019 Washington Mystics season

2019 Washington Mystics season
WNBA champions
CoachMike Thibault
ArenaSt. Elizabeths East Arena
Attendance4,530 per game
Results
Record26–8 (.765)
Place1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish1st seed; WNBA Champions, beat Connecticut Sun 3-2
Team Leaders
PointsElena Delle Donne – 19.5 ppg
ReboundsElena Delle Donne – 8.3 rpg
AssistsKristi Toliver – 6.0 apg
Media
TelevisionNBC Sports Washington and Monumental Sports Network

The 2019 WNBA season was the 22nd for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Mystics winning their first WNBA Championship.

The Mystics began playing at the St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena in the 2019 season. The arena holds a maximum of 4,200 spectators per game.[1]

They began the season on May 25, 2019 versus the Connecticut Sun. On August 31, with a victory over the Dallas Wings, the Mystics set a franchise record for wins at 23. The previous record was 22, held jointly by the 2010 and 2018 teams. They entered the playoffs as the top-seeded team, and defeated the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals and the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA Finals.[2]

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2019 WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 10 Kiara Leslie  United States NC State
3 34 Sam Fuehring  United States Louisville

Trades/Roster Changes

Date Details
February 1, 2019 Re-signed G Natasha Cloud[3][4]
February 4, 2019 Re-signed F LaToya Sanders[5][6]

Roster

2019 Washington Mystics roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
G 7 United States Atkins, Ariel 5' 11" (1.8m) 167 lb (76kg) 07-30-1996 Texas 1
G 15 United States Cloud, Natasha 5' 9" (1.75m) 160 lb (73kg) 02-22-1992 Saint Joseph's 4
G/F 11 United States Delle Donne, Elena 6' 5" (1.96m) 187 lb (85kg) 09-05-1989 Delaware 6
F 21 United States Hawkins, Tianna 6' 3" (1.91m) 186 lb (84kg) 03-02-1991 Maryland 5
F 2 United States Hines-Allen, Myisha 6' 2" (1.88m) 200 lb (91kg) 05-30-1996 Louisville 1
G 5 United States Leslie, Kiara 6' 0" (1.83m) 175 lb (79kg) 12-06-1995 NC State R
F 33 Belgium Meesseman, Emma 6' 4" (1.93m) 191 lb (87kg) 05-13-1993 Belgium 5
G 6 Belgium Mestdagh, Kim 5' 9" (1.75m) 154 lb (70kg) 03-12-1990 Colorado State R
G/F 23 United States Powers, Aerial 5' 9" (1.75m) 159 lb (72kg) 07-17-1994 Michigan State 3
F/C 30 United States Sanders, LaToya 6' 2" (1.88m) 170 lb (77kg) 09-11-1986 North Carolina 6
G 20 United States Toliver, Kristi 5' 7" (1.7m) 130 lb (59kg) 01-27-1987 Maryland 10
G 32 United States Walker-Kimbrough, Shatori 5' 9" (1.75m) 140 lb (64kg) 05-18-1995 Maryland 2
Head coach
United States Mike Thibault (St. Martin's)
Assistant coaches
United States Marianne Stanley (Immaculata)
United States Eric Thibault (Missouri)
Athletic trainer
United States Chalisa Fonza (Western Illinois)
Strength and conditioning coach
Vacant
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Game log

Preseason

2019 pre-season game log
May: 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 10 @ Minnesota Lynx L 79–86 Meesseman (19) Meesseman (6) 3 tied (3) Target Center
3,201 		0–1
2 May 17 @ Atlanta Dream W 75–64 Walker-Kimbrough (18) Sanders (5) 3 tied (3) Albany Civic Center
N/A 		1–1
2019 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2019 game log
Total: 26–8 (Home: 14–3; Road: 12–5)
May: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 25 @ Connecticut Sun L 69–84 Meesseman (14) Sanders (9) Cloud (8) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,913 		0–1
June : 9–2 (Home: 4–1; Road: 5–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
2 June 1 Atlanta Dream W 96–75 Atkins (21) Hines-Allen (8) Toliver (5) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,200 		1–1
3 June 5 Chicago Sky W 103–85 Toliver (19) Delle Donne (7) Toliver (6) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
2,347 		2–1
4 June 7 @ New York Liberty W 94–85 Cloud (26) Delle Donne (8) Cloud (8) Westchester County Center
1,567 		3–1
5 June 9 Dallas Wings W 86–62 Hawkins (21) Delle Donne (9) Toliver (6) Westchester County Center
3,564 		4–1
6 June 11 @ Connecticut Sun L 75–83 Atkins (18) Sanders (8) Cloud (8) Mohegan Sun Arena
5,224 		4–2
7 June 14 Seattle Storm L 71–74 Delle Donne (19) Tied (8) Cloud (5) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
3,654 		4–3
8 June 18 @ Los Angeles Sparks W 81–52 Atkins (22) Delle Donne (15) Toliver (9) Staples Center
9,537 		5–3
9 June 20 @ Las Vegas Aces W 95–72 Delle Donne (29) Delle Donne (11) Cloud (7) Mandalay Bay Events Center
4,416 		6–3
10 June 23 @ Atlanta Dream W 89–73 Delle Donne (21) Delle Donne (10) Cloud (6) State Farm Arena
4,136 		7–3
11 June 26 @ Chicago Sky W 81–74 Delle Donne (22) Delle Donne (7) Cloud (5) Wintrust Arena
8,914 		8–3
12 June 29 Connecticut Sun W 102–59 Delle Donne (19) Delle Donne (10) Cloud (6) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,200 		9–3
July : 5–3 (Home: 3–2; Road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
13 July 5 @ Las Vegas Aces W 99–70 Delle Donne (21) Sanders (7) Cloud (9) Mandalay Bay Events Center
N/A 		10–3
14 July 7 @ Los Angeles Sparks L 81–98 Powers (24) Tied (8) Toliver (9) Staples Center
10,336 		10–4
15 July 10 Phoenix Mercury L 68–91 Hawkins (24) Hawkins (7) Toliver (6) Capital One Arena
15,377 		10–5
16 July 13 Las Vegas Aces L 81–85 Cloud (18) Sanders (10) Toliver (7) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,200 		10–6
17 July 19 @ Indiana Fever W 95–88 (OT) Delle Donne (28) Delle Donne (15) Cloud (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
6,726 		11–6
18 July 21 Atlanta Dream W 93–65 Delle Donne (28) Delle Donne (8) Toliver (7) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,200 		12–6
19 July 24 Minnesota Lynx W 79–71 Toliver (32) Meesseman (6) Toliver (6) Target Center
17,934 		13–6
20 July 30 Phoenix Mercury W 99–93 Delle Donne (33) Powers (8) Cloud (6) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
3,819 		14–6
August : 9–2 (Home: 6–0; Road: 3–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
21 August 2 @ Seattle Storm W 99–79 Delle Donne (29) Delle Donne (12) Tied (5) Angel of the Winds Arena
7,488 		15–6
22 August 4 @ Phoenix Mercury L 82–103 Tied (18) Tied (7) Cloud (7) Talking Stick Resort Arena
9,025 		15–7
23 August 8 Indiana Fever W 91–78 Delle Donne (22) Delle Donne (8) Toliver (11) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
3,013 		16–7
24 August 11 Minnesota Lynx W 101–78 Meesseman (25) Delle Donne (10) Cloud (4) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,200 		17–7
25 August 14 Seattle Storm W 88–59 Powers (16) Sanders (8) 5 tied (3) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
3,917 		18–7
26 August 16 @ Minnesota Lynx W 86–79 Atkins (18) Delle Donne (8) Tied (8) Target Center
8,803 		19–7
27 August 18 Indiana Fever W 107–68 Delle Donne (25) Delle Donne (9) Cloud (8) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,034 		20–7
28 August 23 @ Chicago Sky L 78–85 Delle Donne (16) Delle Donne (7) Powers (5) Wintrust Arena
6,131 		20–8
29 August 25 New York Liberty W 101–72 Delle Donne (22) Delle Donne (10) Tied (5) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,200 		21–8
30 August 27 Los Angeles Sparks W 95–66 Powers (20) Sanders (9) Cloud (6) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,200 		22–8
31 August 31 @ Dallas Wings W 91–85 Delle Donne (22) Sanders (11) Meesseman (7) College Park Center
5,205 		23–8
September : 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
32 September 3 @ New York Liberty W 93–77 Delle Donne (30) Tied (10) Cloud (9) Westchester County Center
1,558 		24–8
33 September 6 Dallas Wings W 86–73 Meesseman (25) Meesseman (10) Tied (5) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
3,963 		25–8
34 September 8 Chicago Sky W 100–86 Delle Donne (25) Delle Donne (12) Cloud (6) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,200 		26–8
2019 season schedule

Playoffs

2019 playoff game log
Total: 6–3 (Home: 4–1; Road: 2–1)
Semifinals: 3–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 September 17 Las Vegas Aces W 97–95 Meesseman (27) Meesseman (10) Delle Donne (6) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
3,968 		1–0
2 September 19 Las Vegas Aces W 103–91 Meesseman (30) Delle Donne (10) Cloud (11) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,200 		2–0
3 September 22 @ Las Vegas Aces L 75–92 Delle Donne (22) Meesseman (8) Cloud (6) Mandalay Bay Events Center
6,175 		2–1
4 September 24 @ Las Vegas Aces W 94–90 Delle Donne (25) 3 tied (6) Tied (9) Mandalay Bay Events Center
5,465 		3–1
WNBA Finals: 3–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 September 29 Connecticut Sun W 95–86 Delle Donne (22) Delle Donne (10) Cloud (7) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,200 		1–0
2 October 1 Connecticut Sun L 87–99 Meesseman (23) Meesseman (8) Toliver (7) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,200 		1–1
3 October 6 @ Connecticut Sun W 94–81 Meesseman (21) Powers (8) Toliver (10) Mohegan Sun Arena
9,170 		2–1
4 October 8 @ Connecticut Sun L 86–90 Powers (15) Cloud (7) Cloud (9) Mohegan Sun Arena
8,458 		2–2
5 October 10 Connecticut Sun W 89–78 Meesseman (22) Delle Donne (9) Toliver (4) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,200 		3–2
2019 playoff schedule

Standings

# Eastern Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
1 Washington Mystics (1) 26 8 .765 – 14–3 12–5 13–3
2 Connecticut Sun (2) 23 11 .676 3 15–2 8–9 11–5
3 Chicago Sky (5) 20 14 .588 6 12–5 8–9 11–5
4 e –Indiana Fever 13 21 .382 13 7–10 6–11 7–9
5 e –New York Liberty 10 24 .294 16 4–13 6–11 3–13
6 e –Atlanta Dream 8 26 .235 18 5–12 3–14 3–13

Playoffs

Main article: 2019 WNBA Playoffs
First round:
Single elimination
(Sept. 11)		Second round:
Single elimination
(Sept. 15)		Semifinals:
Best-of-five
(Sept. 17 – Sept. 24)		WNBA Finals:
Best-of-five
(Sept. 29 – Oct. 10)
1Washington Mystics971037594
4Las Vegas Aces934Las Vegas Aces95919290
5Chicago Sky1055Chicago Sky921Washington Mystics9587948689
8Phoenix Mercury762Connecticut Sun8699819078
2Connecticut Sun849478
3Los Angeles Sparks923Los Angeles Sparks756856
6Seattle Storm846Seattle Storm69
7Minnesota Lynx74

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

Statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Regular season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Elena Delle Donne 31 31 29.1 51.5 43.0 97.4 8.3 2.2 0.6 1.3 19.5
Emma Meesseman 23 6 23.6 55.2 42.2 90.5 4.2 3.2 0.9 0.7 13.1
Kristi Toliver 23 23 29.5 49.4 36.0 85.7 2.9 6.0 1.2 0.1 13.0
Aerial Powers 30 7 19.8 43.4 36.2 86.7 3.2 1.5 0.8 0.2 11.4
Ariel Atkins 33 33 24.4 41.6 35.7 81.1 2.8 1.9 1.5 0.5 10.3
Tianna Hawkins 31 1 15.4 51.4 36.3 92.5 4.2 0.7 0.5 0.1 9.5
Natasha Cloud 34 34 32.1 39.4 32.6 68.3 2.5 5.6 1.0 0.2 9.0
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough 34 1 17.1 43.2 31.0 93.0 1.6 1.2 0.8 0.2 6.7
LaToya Sanders 34 34 23.6 50.6 0 89.2 5.5 1.9 0.9 1.4 6.1
Myisha Hines-Allen 27 0 7.8 36.2 37.5 58.3 2.1 0.9 0.3 0.4 7.8
Shey Peddy 15 0 4.7 61.5 50.0 100 0.6 0.5 0.3 0.0 1.7
Kim Mestdagh 15 0 4.7 38.9 40.0 100 0.3 0.4 0.1 0.0 1.5

Awards and honors

Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
Elena Delle Donne WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week June 24, 2019 [7]
July 1, 2019 [8]
WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month - June July 1, 2019 [9]
Mike Thibault WNBA Coach of the Month - June July 2, 2019 [10]
Elena Delle Donne WNBA All-Star Selection July 15, 2019 [11]
Kristi Toliver
Elena Delle Donne WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week July 22, 2019 [12]
WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month - July August 1, 2019 [13]
WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week August 5, 2019 [14]
August 12, 2019 [15]
August 19, 2019 [16]
WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month - August September 4, 2019 [17]
Mike Thibault WNBA Coach of the Month - August September 4, 2019 [18]
Elena Delle Donne WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week September 9, 2019 [19]
WNBA MVP September 19, 2019 [20]
Emma Meesseman WNBA Finals MVP October 10, 2019 [21]

References

  1. ^ Barrios, Jennifer (September 22, 2018). "Residents hope new arena means new life for long-neglected area". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  2. ^ "2019 Washington Mystics Schedule". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  3. ^ "NATASHA CLOUD RE-SIGNS WITH MYSTICS". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. February 1, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  4. ^ Thompson, Elaine (February 1, 2019). "O'Hara grad Natasha Cloud gets new deal from Mystics". delcotimes.com. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  5. ^ "MYSTICS RE-SIGN SANDERS". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  6. ^ Lee, Albert (February 4, 2019). "WNBA Free Agency: Mystics re-sign LaToya Sanders". bulletsforever.com. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
  7. ^ @WNBA (June 24, 2019). "🗣 Congrats to @De11eDonne and @_ajawilson22 for being named this week's #PlayerofTheWeek 👏" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "Delle Donne, Wilson Earn Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  9. ^ "Delle Donne, Howard Receive Player Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  10. ^ @WNBA (July 2, 2019). "Congrats to @WashMystics head coach Mike Thibault on winning #WNBA Coach of the Month for June! 👏" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "Seven-Time Selection Charles, Dupree, Highlight Reserves For All-Star". wnba.com. WNBA. July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  12. ^ "Delle Donne, Howard Earn Player Of The Week Honors". wnba.com. WNBA. July 22, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  13. ^ @WNBA (August 1, 2019). "Congratulations to @De11eDonne and @Nnemkadi30 on being named Players of the Month! 💯🏀 #WNBA" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "Delle Donne, Parker Earn Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. August 5, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  15. ^ "Delle Donne, Ogwumike Named Players of the Week". wnba.com. WNBA. August 12, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  16. ^ "Delle Donne, Ogunbowale Earn Player of the Week Honors". wnba.com. WNBA. August 19, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
  17. ^ "Delle Donne, Griner Named Players Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  18. ^ "Coach Of The Month: Mike Thibault". wnba.com. WNBA. September 4, 2019. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  19. ^ "Delle Donne, Parker Earn Player of the Week". wnba.com. WNBA. September 9, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  20. ^ "Washington's Elena Delle Donne Named 2019 WNBA Basketball Most Valuable Player". wnba.com. WNBA. September 19, 2019. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  21. ^ "Emma Meesseman Named WNBA Finals 2019 MVP". wnba.com. WNBA. October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.