Rookie Shakira Austin and Ariel Atkins lead Mystics to convincing victory over Mercury

Rookie Shakira Austin had 16 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double, Ariel Atkins added 13 points and the Washington Mystics beat the Phoenix Mercury 83-65 on Tuesday night.

Washington was coming off a 99-90 overtime loss to Phoenix on Sunday. This time, the Mystics sealed it by finishing the game on a 9-0 run as the Mercury went scoreless through the final 4:15.

Alysha Clark added 11 points and Elizabeth Williams scored 10 for Washington (10-6). Elena Delle Donne, who has missed the last two games with back problems, scored her seven points in the first half. Natasha Cloud extended her five-plus assist streak to 18 before finishing with six points and 10 assists.

Diamond DeShields had 21 points and eight rebounds and Tina Charles added 19 points for Phoenix (5-9), which saw its three-game winning streak snapped. Diana Taurasi added nine points, six rebounds and six assists.

Phoenix guard Skylar Diggins-Smith stole in the third quarter to reach 300 for his career. Charles had five 3-pointers to set a career high in a regular season game.