CITRON AT THE BUZZER: Sonia’s Cold-Blooded Fadeaway Saves Mystics from Mabrey’s Fourth-Quarter Madness

CITRON AT THE BUZZER: Sonia’s Cold-Blooded Fadeaway Saves Mystics from Mabrey’s Fourth-Quarter Madness

If you turned off the television on Friday night thinking the Washington Mystics had wrapped up an easy victory over the Toronto Tempo, you missed one of the most chaotic, heart-stopping, and utterly ridiculous finishes of the WNBA season. Washington survived an absolute fourth-quarter avalanche, escaping with an 86-85 victory thanks to a cold-blooded, buzzer-beating fadeaway from Sonia Citron.

Let’s set the scene: Washington looked completely in control when rookie Lauren Betts—the No. 4 overall pick stepping up big with Kiki Iriafen sidelined by an ankle injury—muscled her way inside to put the Mystics up by 14 with just over three minutes to play. Betts was a monster all night, dropping a season-high 18 points on a hyper-efficient 8-of-9 shooting performance.

And then, Marina Mabrey decided she wanted to be a superhero.

Mabrey went into absolute psycho mode for the expansion Tempo, exploding for 18 of her game-high 27 points in the fourth quarter alone. She hit two triples in a 25-second window to cut the deficit, then casually converted a four-point play before pulling up for another deep 3-pointer to give Toronto an improbable 84-83 lead with 31.6 seconds left. Mabrey was out there rewriting history books, passing Shekinna Stricklen for 23rd on the WNBA all-time 3-point list while putting on an iconic scoring clinic.

Brittney Sykes responded for the Tempo with a driving layup to retake the lead—her only bucket of the second half—setting up a frantic final sequence.

With the clock winding down, Betts got deep position under the rim but found herself tied up with 2.1 seconds left. Under extreme pressure, the rookie won the ensuing jump ball, tipping it perfectly to Citron. Sonia didn't blink. She caught it, let go of a fading jumper as the red light flashed, and snapped the nylon to leave Toronto completely heartbroken.

The Mystics (5-6) won this game, but let's be real: they tried their absolute best to give it away. Washington played standard-issue "sloppy style" basketball, coughing up a horrific, season-high 22 turnovers. Shakira Austin logged a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards, but she also handed out a career-high 9 turnovers—the most by any player in a single WNBA game this season. Add in a miserable 2-of-18 (11%) performance from the 3-point line, and Washington is lucky they aren't crying in the film room.

Give credit to the expansion Tempo (7-6), who played like an absolute menace on defense, racking up a season-high 18 steals—the most seen in the league since 2025. They fought like hell without Nyara Sabally (hamstring), but Mabrey’s legendary fourth-quarter rescue mission just lacked a final defensive stop.

The Bottom Line: Washington caught a serious break and a moment of pure ice-in-the-veins greatness from Sonia Citron. They’ll take the win, but heading out on a four-game road trip starting in New York, they'd better fix that turnover problem, or the Liberty will turn them into statistical dust.

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