Elena Delle Donne and Washington teammate Kristi Toliver will face Connecticut's Chiney Ogwumike in Saturday's WNBA All-Star Game in Minneapolis.
But first the All-Stars meet in an important final game before the break when the Mystics visit the Sun at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
With both teams coming off weekend road wins, the Mystics (14-10) head into this fourth and final meeting between the teams in sixth place in the standings. The Sun (13-12) hold the eighth and final playoff spot, 1 1/2 games behind Washington.
Delle Donne, who grabbed her 1,000th career rebound in Saturday's win at New York, was the captain of one of the two All-Star teams and chose Toliver with her first pick for Team Delle Donne. Candace Parker tabbed Ogewumike -- along with her sister, Nneka -- for Team Parker.
"It's been a lot of fun. I'm glad we only picked earlier this morning as I haven't had to keep the secret for too long," Delle Donne said after the selections. "Candace and I were going back and forth on the phone. ... How can you go wrong when you have a group of All-Stars."
Delle Donne is third in the league in scoring (20.5 points per game) and seventh in rebounding (7.4). Tolliver is eighth in assists (4.6). Ogwumike is sixth in rebounding (7.5).
The Mystics, who lead the season series with the Sun 2-1, had lost four of their last five games before defeating the Liberty on Saturday. The Sun, just 6-11 after a 7-1 start, shook off a home loss to the first-place Seattle Storm by cruising in Dallas.
In Connecticut's previous game, at home, the Sun, who have suffered two dramatic last-second losses (one on a half-court shot), turned the ball over 22 times against the Storm.
Just a different way to lose.
"It starts to feel like that," Sun guard Jasmine Thomas said. "It can start to weigh on you. It takes a toll. That's the battle. The battle is fighting that bad energy and still stay positive and stay together as a team."
Connecticut turned the ball over only eight times and Sun forward Shekinna Stricklen tied a WNBA record (and set a team mark) by hitting eight 3-pointers (in 11 tries) in the win at Dallas. That ended a two-game losing streak.
Delle Donne had 30 points and 10 rebounds and Toliver had 19 points and eight assists in the Mystics' victory in New York.
The Sun won the first game between the teams in June, but Washington, under the direction of former Connecticut coach Mike Thibault, rebounded with wins on June 13 (91-55 at Mohegan) and June 26.
