Elena Delle Donne lifts the Mystics over Wings in a thriller

“I love being able to learn a lesson with a win,” Delle Donne said. “A little tougher when you have to do it with a loss. It’s a group who’s been in these type of moments, and we’re able to kind of just get it together. But obviously being a veteran group, we need to also not let it get to that point.

“That’s part of my job as a leader to try to figure out a way to keep us locked in and keep us doing the things that were working.”

Delle Donne finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds and Shakira Austin posted another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds as the Mystics improved to 3-2. Ariel Atkins finally found her shooting stroke and tallied 16 points and eight rebounds.

A tough early stretch shows the Mystics’ potential and their issues

The Wings (3-2) were led by Arike Ogunbowale, who scored 18 to go with six assists. Satou Sabally added 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Natasha Howard posted 16 points and 13 rebounds.

The Mystics’ fourth-quarter comeback had Entertainment and Sports Arena as loud as it has been all season. The teams traded momentum swings, with Delle Donne’s threes the last twist before Atkins made seven straight free throws in the final minute. Delle Donne’s second three-pointer was set up by Austin chasing down Kalani Brown for a spectacular block of a transition layup that would have extended the Wings’ lead to four.

“Moments like that, they’re energy-shifters,” Austin said. “You could see everybody on the court to the bench, like, they just feed off that. It was dope. I was about to dap Myisha [Hines-Allen] up, but I’m like okay, wait. I look down, and Elena’s shooting the three.”

Austin and Delle Donne met at center court for an emphatic chest bump after a timeout was called.

“That was like a ‘I’m her’ moment for both of us,” Austin said with a laugh. “Yeah, you did that. It was mutual. It was like, yeah, we’re here.”

The Mystics appeared in control early in the third quarter after a pair of free throws from Austin pushed their lead to 43-32. But the Wings answered with an 11-2 run. The Mystics responded with five straight from Delle Donne and a three-pointer from Atkins to push the lead back to 10.

The Wings promptly ripped off a 14-2 run to close the third quarter — a burst fueled, in large part, by Washington turnovers. The Wings finished with 20 points off 15 Mystics giveaways. Sabally’s…