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The Washington Mystics' future was blindingly bright on Tuesday night, thanks in large part to their rookie pair of Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen.
The two combined for a historic franchise accomplishment, as Washington took care of business at CareFirst Arena versus the visiting Chicago Sky, scoring a 103-86 victory.
Citron led all scorers in the contest with 28 points while shooting 10-for-15 from the floor while adding two rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in 29 minutes of action. Iriafen, on the other hand, generated 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals in 30 minutes.
With their big performances, Citron and Iriafen became just the first Washington rookie pair in franchise history to reach a particular single-game scoring milestone.
“And another Mystics record in the books 📚 First time in team history that two rookies posted 20+ points in the same game,” the Mystics wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Citron, who played college basketball with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish before getting selected third overall by the Mystics at the 2025 WNBA draft, made a living in the Sky game from behind the arc, as she knocked down five of six attempts from deep. Meanwhile, Iriafen dominated inside the 3-point line while going 6-for-8 from the foul line. Iriafen, a product of the USC Trojans women's basketball program, was taken by Washington just a spot after Citron in the WNBA draft.
Needless to say, Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson was thrilled by how Iriafen and Citron have been performing in just their rookie WNBA season.
“First and foremost, just how lucky we are to have them in a Mystics uniform,” Johnson said after the Sky game (h/t Kareem Copeland of The Washington Post).
“To come to this league and really want to be great and open to coaching through the highs and lows, through the pressure defense and officiating and the different scheme … I don’t know what to tell you. But the future’s really great with the pair — it’s just as clear as day.”
Washington got back to .500 with a 13-13 record and will be facing the Golden State Valkyries up next on Thursday at CareFirst Arena.
