Shakira Austin continues to thrive in Minnesota as Mystics beat Lynx

Austin delivered another strong game, pulling down 13 rebounds to go with six points as the Mystics — playing without two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne — beat the Minnesota Lynx, 76-59.

Austin, the former Riverdale Baptist All-Met who was the third overall pick in the WNBA draft, has continued to impress. On a veteran team, the expectation was that the rookie wouldn’t need to take a big role so early. Instead, after a breakout game in the Mystics’ first trip here more than a month ago, she has earned her way into the starting lineup.

“Since the last time we were here [a 78-66 win May 8], it’s just definitely been a journey,” Austin said. “It’s definitely been some ups and downs. Losing and just trying to find our identity. Myself trying to get my groove back and continue to be aggressive.

“I feel last time against Minnesota, I just was playing efficient, playing aggressive. And right now I’m just getting back to that moment. To continue to just be there for my team, show up, be consistent, just put the work in.”

Those “downs” drove Austin to the film room, where she watched a mash-up of college clips. She remained in the lineup, but she seemed to labor a bit more with everything. The aggression seemed to wane as Austin continued to find her role.

“I know when I get in rough patches and I feel like I’m losing who I am on the court, I just like to go back and remember how easy it kind of is,” said Austin, who started her college career at Maryland before finishing at Mississippi. “The game’s really simple, and it’s just about preparation and putting the work in and also knowing that you have the skill to compete with everybody.”

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The Mystics (9-5) never trailed in a choppy game. Minnesota (3-10) hung around in striking distance for much of the night, but Washington pulled away in the fourth quarter with Myisha Hines-Allen having her best game of the season. She finished with a season-high 17 points and six rebounds. Ariel Atkins added 12 points, and Elizabeth Williams had 11 points and six rebounds. Natasha Cloud had eight points and eight assists.

“It’s good for her confidence,” Coach Mike Thibault said of Hines-Allen. “It’s good for our team learning how we can use her. We’re kind of using more and more and more tonight like we did in the bubble and for the times that she was healthy last year. Put the ball in more hands a little bit more as a point forward in the fourth quarter.

“That was a big thing. She was able to penetrate or find people. Made a couple of threes. Those were all, you know, big plays.”

Austin joked and shouted, “About time!” in the postgame media session when discussing Hines-Allen. She had entered the game shooting career lows in field goal percentage and from behind the arc, but teammates and coaches continued to encourage her to be aggressive. Thibault said there was no hesitation in her decision-making against the Lynx.

“I was just shooting with confidence,” Hines-Allen said. “Just playing like I know I can play and just seeing the ball go in makes my job easier.”

Here’s what else to know about the Mystics’ win:

Delle Donne left Wednesday’s game in the second quarter with lower back tightness, but Thibault said she felt much better the next day. He described the issue as muscle spasms and not anything structural. She didn’t make the trip to Minneapolis, instead going through her normal workout in Washington on Friday. Delle Donne is expected to play at home Sunday against the Mercury.

The Lynx played their first game of the season without Sylvia Fowles, the 2017 MVP playing her final season. Fowles is out indefinitely with a cartilage issue in her right knee. The seven-time MVP was averaging 16.5 points (10th in the league) and leading the WNBA in rebounding (10.3) and field goal percentage (64.1).

“Nobody is going to be Syl, per se,” Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve said. “We talked about each player: Is there something they can do that Syl brought to the table that we could each kind of share the load in?”

The league released the first round of all-star voting numbers, and Ariel Atkins was a notable oversight. Atkins was not among the top 30 vote-getters despite entering Friday ranked 13th in scoring (15.8) and shooting 41.3 percent from three-point range.

Delle Donne had the fifth-most votes, Austin was 29th and Cloud was 30th.

“If she’s not in the top 30, somebody’s missing the boat,” Thibault said of Atkins. “And our fans aren’t doing their job voting.

“I have no comment. We know who the best players are.”