Delle Donne Scores 24 to Lead Mystics Over Stars in Debut


WASHINGTON (AP) Elena Delle Donne scored 24 points in her Washington debut and the Mystics never trailed in their WNBA season opener, beating the San Antonio Stars 89-74 on Sunday.

The 2015 MVP, who was acquired in an offseason trade with Chicago, played just 23 minutes as she dealt with foul trouble. Tayler Hill and Emma Meesseman, Washington’s top two scorers for last season’s 13-21 team, added 15 and 13 points, respectively.

Delle Donne, who spent four seasons with the Sky, made the game-opening basket and had a driving layup to start a 10-0 run. With Meesseman converting a three-point play and Delle Donne adding five more points the Mystics took a 21-11 lead. Kristi Tolliver, who signed as a free agent after helping Los Angeles win the league title, had the last five points as Washington, ranked fourth in the AP preseason power poll, took a 26-16 lead at the break.

San Antonio, which lost its season-opener in New York on Saturday, got within three midway through the third quarter but Washington pushed the lead back to 13 entering the fourth quarter.

Former Mystic Monique Currie had a career-high 31 points for San Antonio, which was without its top two scorers from last year and No. 1 overall draft pick Kelsey Plum because of injuries.