Lynx play tough defense but fail to get the offense rolling in 70-57 loss to Mystics

Kayla McBride wasn't interested in excuses. Yes, the last 24 hours had been hard. But it's a fact:

"You have to score to win," she said. "And we didn't do that."

Same for Aerial Powers. "We just have to shoot better," she said. "The perimeter players, we have to provide more. We just have to be better."

Sunday in Washington the Lynx were playing their fourth game in six days. They were coming off a travel nightmare Saturday that, thanks to a flight cancellation and a scheduling headache, took them 12 hours to go from Indianapolis to D.C. The players didn't get to their hotels until 1 a.m., 13 hours before Sunday tipoff.

Whether it was that or Washington's stifling defense, the fact is the Lynx scored a season low in points in losing 70-57 to the Mystics. After leading the WNBA in scoring and offensive rating while going 7-3 over their previous 10 games, the Minnesota offense stalled in the nation's capital.

"We had a decent first quarter," coach Cheryl Reeve said. "We made some shots. And then it got more difficult for us."

The Lynx shot 22-for-66 overall, 4-for-20 on three-pointers. After taking a 17-13 lead after a quarter, Minnesota (10-17) shot 14-for-48, 29.2% while being swept in the season series by the Mystics (16-11), who held Minnesota to 66, 59 and 57 points in three games.

Even with the travel difficulties, the Lynx played strong defense. They held Washington to 37.7% shooting and its second-lowest point total this season. It was the fifth time in six games the Lynx have held an opponent under 40%. Since the start of the 2011 season Minnesota is 140-6 when it does that. But two of those six losses have come this season.

"They're known for their defense, especially at their place,'' said McBride, who led the Lynx with 16 points. But she was 7-for-19. Powers was 5-for-16, point guard Moriah Jefferson was 2-for-7. "But we came out flat, took some bad shots. We weren't being the aggressors.''

The game really turned in the second quarter, which started with the Lynx up four. But the Mystics, led by Elena Delle Donne — who scored 13 of her 21 points in the second — outscored the Lynx 24-11 to take a nine-point halftime lead. Then, with the Lynx scoring just two points over the first seven-plus minutes of the third quarter, Washington pushed that lead to 19. Minnesota fought back to within 11 to start the fourth, but never really threatened over the final 10 minutes.

Powers finished with 11 points. In her 400th career game, center Sylvia Fowles had nine points and 12 rebounds.

The loss dropped the Lynx back to 11th place in the WNBA standings. They are 1½ games out of a playoff spot with nine regular-season games remaining. The good news: Minnesota doesn't play again until Friday, which will give players time to rest and the team time to clean up some issues that have cropped up during this four-game stretch, when there were not practices.

The bad news: The Lynx return with consecutive home games against Connecticut, followed by three straight road games.

"First we're going to get some rest from playing four games in six days,'' McBride said. "It's really a lot. I'm used to playing year-around, but this is a lot. Then we have to string together some wins.''

The Star Tribune did not travel for this event. This article was written using the television broadcast and video interviews before and/or after the event.