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After a strong start to the 2025 WNBA regular season, the Washington Mystics now find themselves struggling. On Sunday, Washington, which won its first two games of the campaign, suffered their third loss in a row, absorbing a 68-62 defeat at the hands of the Phoenix Mercury at PHX Arena in Phoenix.
The Mystics surprisingly lost by only six points to Phoenix despite an incredibly bad job at securing the ball. Washington ended up committing a total of 30 turnovers, which were converted into 14 points by the Mercury.
It's not always that a team turns the ball over that many times in a game. In fact, it was just the fourth time in the history of the WNBA that a team had at least 30 turnovers in a contest.
“The Washington Mystics’ 30 turnovers tied the fourth most in a game in WNBA history,” as noted by Desert Wave Media.
Rookie forward Kiki Iriafen was the biggest turnover culprit for the Mystics in the Phoenix game, as the former USC Trojans star had seven turnovers. Meanwhile, another rookie in ex-Notre Dame Fighting Irish star Sonia Citro, had six turnovers while pacing the Mystics with 14 points.
The poor ball security by Iriafen and Citro can be viewed as part of Washington's growing pains with their rookies. Citron was taken third overall in the 2025 WNBA draft, while Iriafen was selected by the Mystics a pick later.
The Mystics ended up getting outshot by Phoenix, in part because of all the possessions Washington lost. Phoenix had 63 attempts from the field to just 54 by Washington. Moreover, the Mercury, who improved to 3-1 in the WNBA standings, had eight fastbreak points. As for the Mystics, they dropped to 2-3 through five games.
Turnovers have been a big issue for Washington this season. It is averaging 18.0 turnovers per game. Only Angel Reese and the Sky are averaging more (20.0) per outing, through Sunday.
Washington went just 14-26 in the 2024 WNBA season and missed the playoffs for the first time in three years.
Looking ahead, the Mystics will take on Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever at home on Wednesday after playing four straight games on the road.
