Mystics beat – Gabby Williams was part of the WNBA’s 30th season coverage, but Sunday’s real headline belonged to the Washington Mystics. In a marathon at CareFirst Arena, Washington beat the Portland Fire 124-123 in four overtimes, with Sonia Citron scoring the winning layu
By the time the fourth overtime started, the only thing that felt settled was how little anyone wanted it to end.
On Sunday. June 28. the Washington Mystics outlasted the Portland Fire 124-123 in a four-overtime thriller at CareFirst Arena in Washington. D.C.—a game so long it was one layup away from becoming a historic fifth extra period. Sonia Citron delivered that moment. scoring the winning layup with 21.4 seconds left. snapping the Mystics’ two-game losing streak and keeping the matchup from reaching a landmark fifth overtime. It would have been the first game in WNBA history to reach a fifth overtime period.
The road to Citron’s final shot was paved with precision under pressure. Portland’s Bridget Carleton sent the game into the fourth overtime by scoring a jumper with 3.1 seconds left in the third extra period to tie the game at 116.
Citron carried Washington through the exhaustion. She finished with a career-high 32 points, and she wasn’t alone in reaching that level of output. The Mystics had three players score 30 points: Citron. Michaela Onyenwere. and Portland guard Carla Leite. who led the Fire with 32 points. Citron played 53 minutes. Carleton played 51 minutes.
There has been only one other four-overtime game in WNBA history that involved the Mystics. Per the league, Washington played the Seattle Storm on July 3, 2001, in the other extra-long matchup, and the Mystics won 72-69.
For a league entering its 30th season, Sunday’s result still carried the kind of weight that comes from rarity—one team refusing to break and the other arriving just short. This time, the Mystics got the final bucket, and with it, the game stayed at four.
WNBA Washington Mystics Portland Fire four overtime CareFirst Arena Sonia Citron Bridget Carleton Michaela Onyenwere Carla Leite June 28
4 overtimes is insane lol I can’t even imagine watching that whole thing.
So Citron hit the winning layup with like 21 seconds left right? Honestly refs must’ve been tired too because games like that always feel rigged.
Carleton sent it to the 4th OT with 3.1 seconds left… but I’m confused, how did it already have 3 overtimes and then still go to a 4th like that. Either way props, 53 minutes is wild.
I swear I saw Sonia Citron play for the Mystics like years ago, so 32 points sounds normal to me. Also one layup from a 5th overtime is crazy, but was it really the first time ever? ESPN always says that then it ends up being not first.