Mike Thibault’s 300th career win as a coach was far from his most glamorous as a coach—his star player was limited to 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting, and the team as a whole went 1-of-16 on threes—but he got the job done as the Mystics defeated the Sparks 83-74 on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams struggled from deep throughout the game, combining to only make 16.6 percent of their shots from downtown, which forced both teams to compensate in different ways. The Sparks turned to inside-out attack Chelsea Gray and Nneka Ogwumike, who combined for 45 points on 26 shots, while the Mystics leaned on their guards, Kristi Toliver and Natasha Cloud, who combined to go 18-of-20 from the free throw line.