Mystics’ Success is Overshadowing Sonia Citron’s Biggest Second-Year Struggle
Despite an 86-76 loss to the Las Vegas Aces, the Washington Mystics are in a great position for their last 12 games of the season. They won seven consecutive games before that loss, including big wins over playoff teams. They took down the Golden State Valkyries, Aces, Dallas Wings, and Atlanta Dream, and are sixth in the standings while having the youngest roster in the W.
Sonia Citron has been a massive part of the Mystics’ success. She is their leading scorer with 17.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. Citron has improved her scoring significantly from 14.9 points per game as a rookie despite averaging only one extra minute and roughly one more shot attempt per game.
With all of that success, Citron’s struggles from the 3-point line are flying under the radar.
Citron’s 3-point percentage has dropped notably
Citron was one of the best 3-point shooters in the W as a rookie. She shot 44.5% on 4.1 attempts per game. Her success from deep wasn’t much of a surprise after she shot 37% from three over four seasons at Notre Dame.
This season, she has struggled mightily from deep. Citron still averages 4.1 3-point attempts per game, but she is only converting 30.3% of them. Her 3-point shooting has been up and down from game to game all season long. She shot 5-for-6 from long range against the Mercury and then followed it up with a 1-for-4 performance against the Aces.
Citron is playing well, and the Mystics are winning despite her struggles from the 3-point line. Still, the Mystics can only hope that this is a sophomore slump and a result of her increased responsibilities as a playmaker rather than a long-term issue. With two rookie point guards, one of whom is coming off an ACL tear, the Mystics are asking Citron to initiate and create offense a lot, especially in clutch time. That, combined with her tough defensive assignments and overall scoring and minute load, could be a simple explanation for Citron’s season-long shooting slump. It is, after all, a lot for a second-year player.
Hopefully, getting a veteran point guard in the offseason—or significant improvement from Georgia Amore—will set Citron up for a better shooting season next year. Citron is a great player when her 3-pointers aren’t falling consistently, but a deadly outside shot makes her so much better, and the Mystics need her at her best as they try to build a championship contender around her, Iriafen, and Austin.
Winning in the playoffs is tough if your 3-pointers aren’t falling, which could lead to an early playoff exit for the Mystics this year. They rank 14th in 3-point percentage. Michaela Onyenwere, Lucy Olsen, and Shakira Austin, who has taken a massive step as a 3-point shooter, are the only players shooting better than 33% from deep.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.