The Washington Mystics couldn't have had a more encouraging performance for their present and future than they did in Friday night's upset victory over the Atlanta Dream. They won 94-90, and two of their three 2025 lottery picks were vital to the result.

One of them was Sonia Citron, who tallied 19 points (6-7 FG, 2-2 3 PT) with two rebounds and two assists across 24 minutes in her WNBA debut. The No. 3 overall selection sounded off about whether she notices when she's shooting so efficiently.

“I think that I'm kind of just playing. I think when I let the game come to me, I play a lot better,” she admitted postgame. “When I'm focusing on shots, or makes or misses, I think that kind of puts me in a bad headspace. So I try as much as I can to just let the game come to me, and just take open shots, my shots.”

Citron had a similar performance in her preseason debut against the Indiana Fever on May 3, when she totaled 15 points (5-6 FG, 2-3 3 PT) with four rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block across 22 minutes in the 79-74 overtime loss. The Notre Dame alum won't shoot nearly perfectly every game, but the fact that she is already turning in performances like these is a promising sign.

The perfect example of Citron “letting the game come to” her was with 26 seconds left, when veteran guard Brittney Sykes passed her the ball while falling out of bounds after stealing the Dream's (0-1) inbound pass. Instead of forcing up a shot or passing it into traffic, the rookie took the ball from the midrange to the outside and waited to get fouled by Allisha Gray with 17.8 ticks remaining.

Washington was up 92-90 at that point, as Sykes had just hit the go-ahead layup before the steal. Citron drained both free throws to bring the score to 94-90, and the team held up on defense to secure the win.

It would've been easy for a rookie to be skittish and make a bad decision with the fate of the game in their hands, but the 21-year-old plays beyond her experience level. It's too early to make any definitive statements, but her and No. 4 overall pick Kiki Iriafen have made the type of first impressions that can expand a team's fanbase.

Mystics' Kiki Iriafen goes toe-to-toe with Brittney Griner

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Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron (22) shoots the ball as Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard (10) looks on in the second half at CareFirst Arena.
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Washington Mystics Kiki Iriafen (44) goes up for a basket Saturday, May 3, 2025, during a preseason game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Indiana Fever defeated the Washington Mystics in overtime, 79-74.
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Iriafen started Friday's game after coming off the bench in both preseason affairs and once again guarded future Hall of Famer Brittney Griner. The rookie guarded the 10-time All-Star in Washington's 80-70 preseason loss to Atlanta on May 7 too, which she admitted was a difficult assignment.

However, Iriafen did as well as she could've in her situation for the majority of Friday’s contest, limiting Griner to a 2-of-10 shooting clip before the 6-foot-9-inch center went on a personal 7-0 run with five minutes left. The USC alum mentioned postgame that she felt more confident guarding her this time around.

“Definitely, you know, we prepped all week, so I did all my due diligence to make sure I was ready for her,” she said. “Someone like BG, you can't shut her down, you just try to slow her down and burn her out as much as you can. That's what I tried to do to the best of my ability.”

Griner outscored Iriafen 18-14, but she needed six more shots to do so. The former shot 7-of-16 from the field and 0-of-2 from deep, while the latter shot 4-of-10. However, she out-rebounded the 22-year-old 8-4 despite each of them playing 28 minutes.

Still, the fact that Citron and Iriafen combined for almost a third of the Mystics' (1-0) points in a win during their professional debuts was the best-case scenario for Friday's game, especially after they lost No. 6 overall pick Georgia Amoore (ACL) for the season. They won't have to wait long to prove this performance wasn't a fluke, as they'll face the Connecticut Sun in their first away game of the year on Sunday afternoon.