Washington Mystics star Elena Delle Donne was named to her seventh WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday as a reserve. However, all eyes are focused on Delle Donne’s health.
Delle Donne injured her ankle in the fourth quarter of the Mystics’ 94-89 loss to the Atlanta Dream Friday. She had a fantastic game, scoring 31 points on 13-of-19 shooting. It is her most points in a game since returning from multiple back surgeries. She also moved into seventh place on the Mystics’ all-time rebounding list with five boards in the game.
However, Delle Donne rolled her ankle defending a drive by Atlanta’s Nia Coffey on one of the final defensive possessions.
Delle Donne lay on the arena floor, writhing in pain. Her teammates gathered around her before she got helped off the floor.
Mystics head coach Eric Thibault announced Delle Donne sprained her left ankle. The team sent her back to Washington to get an MRI on Saturday, per Kareem Copeland of The Washington Post.
The team announced Elena Delle Donne has been ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Dallas Wings.
The Mystics are already hurting with injuries to key players. Kristi Toliver has been out since June 16 with plantar fasciitis. Second-year center Shakira Austin is out for at least three weeks with a strained hip. Austin was second on the Mystics in scoring at the time of her injury with 11.4 points per game, and led the team with 7.8 rebounds.
But the Delle Donne will be the most significant loss for Washington while she is out. Delle Donne is seventh in the WNBA in scoring with 19.5 points per game. She also is averaging 6.3 rebounds, shooting 50% from the field, including 39.0% from three and 96.2% from the free-throw line.
The Mystics have two players — Abby Myers and Linnae Harper — on hardship contracts while the team is shorthanded with injuries, and Li Meng, playing for China in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup.
Washington is 9-6 and currently sits in fourth place in the WNBA standings. Getting healthy is imperative for the Mystics to stay the course during the regular season.
