Washington Mystics’ ball movement, 3-point shooting hurts Phoenix Mercury in 1st half

The Phoenix Mercury have a WNBA playoff spot locked up, but the first half of Thursday night’s game wasn’t indicative of a postseason-bound team. Phoenx trailed the Washington Mystics 50-32 at halftime, and the officials were booed off the court by an unhappy crowd.

The Mystics led by as much as 10 points in the first quarter, their defense forcing a few possessions on which the Mercury forced a shot with the shot clock winding down. Phoenix also had five turnovers in the first quarter to one for Washington.

Kahleah Copper, the Mercury’s leading scorer at 22.2 points per game going in, didn’t get her first point of Thursday until she made a free throw with 1.2 seconds left in the opening quarter. She had just three points at halftime.

Brittney Griner‘s nine points and seven from Natasha Cloud, back from a one-game suspension for technical fouls accumulated, led the Mercury at the break.

As the second quarter got underway, the Mystics built the lead to 13 points, 28-15, on a 20-foot jumper from Ariel Atkins, prompting a timeout for Phoenix.

After the Mystics’ Karlie Samuelson knocked down a 3-pointer, Washington led 36-20 near the midway point of the quarter. The lead got as high as 20 points before halftime, 50-30, and the crowd let out its frustration when the Mercury’s Sophie Cunningham was called for a foul for inadvertently tripping a Mystics player.

The Mercury made just 12 of 33 shots in the first half. Washington, which is near the bottom of the league standings, made 8 of 17 3-point attempts and 56 percent of its shots overall.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Mercury trailing by 18 at halftime at home to Mystics