The Seattle Storm host the Washington Mystics on Sunday, May 24, and the matchup sets up as a spot where Washington can keep the pressure on. Seattle has already faced the bottom-dwelling Sun three times this year and also played the expansion Tempo, yet the Storm still rank 14th in offensive rating at 99.0 and are shooting just 48.1% effective field goal percentage.
That is why the lean here is on Washington to overmatch Seattle in Mystics vs Storm. The Mystics have the WNBA’s youngest roster, so there will be nights when the ceiling and the volatility show up together, but Kiki Iriafen has given them a reliable center of gravity. In her second year as a pro, she is averaging 16.5 points per game and 12.8 rebounds per game, with three double-doubles in her first four games this season and double-digit rebounds in every game this year.
Iriafen came up one point short of a fourth double-double on Monday, but the larger trend has been even more encouraging for Washington. She has scored 20 or more points in two of her last three games, and the Mystics have leaned on a three-player scoring spine that includes Iriafen, Sonia Citron and Shakira Austin. That balance matters against a Seattle team that has struggled to turn a soft schedule into clean results.
The betting market reflects that edge as well. Citron is listed at +600 on the first-basket market, Austin is at +375 and Iriafen is available at +700, while the Mystics are 5-0 ATS in their last five games against the Storm. Ed Scimia has Washington as the side to back and said he would be cautious if the line climbs above 5.5 points. He also likes the over on Iriafen’s scoring and rebounding totals, pointing to an overmatched Storm defense and an offense that has not kept pace.
That leaves Seattle with a familiar problem: the schedule has not been brutal, but the output still has not caught up. Washington’s youth can make it uneven, yet Iriafen’s production gives the Mystics a steadier floor than the market may be giving them credit for, and that is enough to make Sunday feel like a game the visitors can control from early on.
