{"id":778638,"date":"2026-07-22T21:46:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T21:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/778638\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T21:46:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T21:46:09","slug":"mystics-prepare-for-wnba-mvp-aja-wilson-and-las-vegas-aces-ahead-of-all-star-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/778638\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystics prepare for WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson and Las Vegas Aces ahead of All-Star break"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (7News) \u2014 The Mystics <\/a>have snapped the Golden State Valkyries’ nine-game win streak and will face A’ja Wilson<\/a> and the Las Vegas Aces (18-7 on the season) before heading into All-Star break. <\/p>\n

The team’s 90-82 win over the Valkyries also ended the WNBA’s longest active winning streak and secured the franchise’s first-ever victory over Golden State on Monday night. <\/p>\n

SEE MORE | Kiki Iriafen scores 23 points as Mystics snap Valkyries’ 9-game winning streak with 90-82<\/a><\/p>\n

As the youngest team in the league, the second youngest in WNBA history, the team’s success is showing throughout each game – in what Mystics Head Coach attributes to experience and reps. <\/p>\n

The group’s Big Three: Kiki Iriafen, Sonia Citron and Shakira Austin all had double-digit scoring games. <\/p>\n

Iriafen, who was selected as an All-Star this year, led her team with 23 points and 12 rebounds, securing her 11th double-double of the season. <\/p>\n

Citron, another All-Star selection, also recorded 17 points and six assists to pair with Austin’s 15 points and a game-high 15 rebounds. <\/p>\n

SEE ALSO | Mystics’ Citron and Iriafen named to this year’s WNBA All-Star game<\/a><\/p>\n

“I kind of studied how Golden State was guarding me the last time, so I could kind of counter that; but I think it’s just a growing pain,” Iriafen told reporters following the victory in the Bay. <\/p>\n

“It’s my sophomore season, so understanding that teams are gonna scout for me, and I have to be prepared for anything, coming into any game. But I think today I was just really determined on, you know, making an impact for my team,” she added. <\/p>\n

Now the team redirects their focus to 4x WNBA MVP, A’ja Wilson and the defending WNBA Champions Las Vegas Aces. <\/p>\n

“It’s business per usual; we don’t really let up,” Wilson told 7News’ Jade Lawson ahead of tonight’s matchup. “Coming off of last season, we definitely didn’t go into All-Star the way we wanted, so we want to make sure we don’t have that same carryover and feel this year.”<\/p>\n

Iriafen, who has mentioned she looks up to Wilson as a player, has faced the 3x WNBA Champion before. <\/p>\n

All eyes look to how the young Mystics team will contain the 6′ 4″ center tonight in the paint. <\/p>\n

“This team is sizing up to be one of the mentally toughest teams I’ve ever coached,” Johnson told reporters on Monday. “There’s a togetherness and toughness that we’re rooted in that I think shows up in moments like these as much as it shows up in us goofing around in the locker room or enjoying our time on the road,” he added. <\/p>\n

With a 13-12 record so far on the season, the Mystics currently sit at third in the Eastern Conference and 8th overall. <\/p>\n

The team will tip off at CareFirst Arena in Southeast, D.C., at 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

The 2026 WNBA All-Star weekend kicks off in Chicago starting Thursday, July 23. The season will continue with games on July 28. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON (7News) \u2014 The Mystics have snapped the Golden State Valkyries’ nine-game win streak and will face A’ja…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":771401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-778638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/771401"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=778638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=778638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}