The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded prior to the 1998 season, and is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which also owns the Mystics' NBA counterpart, the Washington Wizards. The team plays in the Entertainment and Sports Arena in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington DC. Sheila C. Johnson, co-founder of BET and ex-wife of Charlotte Sting owner Robert L. Johnson, is the managing partner.
Suzanne Brigit Bird is an American former professional basketball player who played her entire career with the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Bird was drafted by the Storm first overall in the 2002 WNBA draft and is considered to be one of the greatest players in WNBA history. As of 2021, Bird is the only WNBA player to win titles in three different decades. She held a front office position for the NBA's Denver Nuggets as their Basketball Operations Associate. She has also played for three teams in Russia, and also has dual citizenship with both U.S. and Israel.
Alana Monique Beard is an American former professional basketball player. After playing college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, she was drafted second overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2004 WNBA draft. She signed on with the Los Angeles Sparks as a free agent in 2012. Beard was the 2017 and 2018 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. However, she was injured next season, only contributing a few points for the Sparks. Beard announced her retirement from the WNBA on January 23, 2020.
Elena Delle Donne is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Delle Donne played college basketball for the Delaware Blue Hens from 2009 to 2013. She was drafted by the Chicago Sky with the second overall pick of the 2013 WNBA draft, and led the Sky to the 2014 WNBA Finals, where they were defeated by the Phoenix Mercury. Delle Donne was traded to the Washington Mystics in 2017 and led them to their first WNBA championship in 2019.
Brenda Sue Frese is an American women's basketball head coach and former player. Since 2002, she has served as the head coach of the University of Maryland women's basketball team. In her fourth year as head coach, she won the 2006 Women's National Championship. She won the 2009 ACC Regular Season and Tournament Championships – the women's first ACC Championship since 1989. She won another ACC Championship in 2012 and reached another Final Four in 2014. Maryland moved to the Big Ten for the 2014–15 season and Frese led the Terrapins to an undefeated 18–0 conference record and a Big Ten Regular Season Championship in their first year in the Big Ten. The Terrapins advanced to their second straight Final Four and third under Frese in 2015. She was voted AP National Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2021, ACC Coach of the Year in 2013, Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2002, 2015, 2019, and 2021, and MAC Coach of the Year in 2000. At Maryland, she's coached four ACC Players of the Year and four ACC Freshmen of the Year.
The Maryland Terrapins women's basketball are an American basketball team. The team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition. Maryland, a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), left the ACC in 2014 to join the Big Ten Conference. The program won the 2006 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament championship and has appeared in the NCAA Final Four five times ; Maryland also appeared once in the AIAW Final Four (1978). As members of the ACC, the Terrapins won regular season conference championships and an ACC-record ten conference tournament championships. The program won the Big Ten Conference regular season and tournament championships in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, and 2021.
Armintie Ada (Price) Herrington is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Price, who played collegiately at the University of Mississippi, was drafted third overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2007 WNBA draft. She was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Kristi Renee Toliver is an American-Slovak professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the associate head coach for the Phoenix Mercury. During her rookie season in the WNBA, Toliver signed an endorsement deal with Nike.
The Florida Gators women's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Gators play their home games at the O'Connell Center located on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and are currently led by head coach Kelly Rae Finley, following the resignation of Cameron Newbauer. The Gators have appeared in 15 NCAA tournaments, with a record of 12–15.
Alysha Angelica Clark is an American-Israeli professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the Israeli team Elitzur Ramla. In college, she led the NCAA in scoring three years in a row. She was drafted in the second round of the 2010 WNBA draft by the San Antonio Silver Stars. In 2018, Clark won a championship with the Seattle Storm as they swept the Mystics in the 2018 WNBA Finals, and in 2020 won her second championship as the Storm swept the Las Vegas Aces. She won her third WNBA championship with the Las Vegas Aces in 2023. She was also the Most Valuable Player in the league in 2018 when her team CCC Polkowice of Poland in the Basket Liga Kobiet Basketball won that league's championship. In 2019, she won a Ligue Féminine de Basketball championship with her French team, Lyon Asvel. Clark is known for her swarming defense and clutch shooting.
Tayler Hill is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Hill previously played for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Hill was a McDonald's All-American coming out of high school and left high school as the all-time leading scorer in Minnesota basketball history with 3,888 points. She was selected fourth overall in the 2013 WNBA draft by the Mystics.
Allisha Gray is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Elitzur Ramla of Israel. She won a gold medal in Women's 3x3 basketball, at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Alaina Denise Coates is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA and for Galatasaray in Turkey. She played college basketball for the University of South Carolina.
Brittney Sykes is an American professional basketball player with the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted with the seventh overall pick in the 2017 WNBA draft.
Christyn Williams is an American women's basketball player. She was drafted by the Washington Mystics. She played college basketball at the University of Connecticut (UConn). She played in high school for Central Arkansas Christian School in North Little Rock, Arkansas. A five-star recruit and one of the most decorated high school basketball players in history, Williams rose to national acclaim after winning the 2018 WBCA National Player of the Year award, the 2018 Naismith National Player of the Year award the 2018 Gatorade National Player of the Year award, and the 2018 USA Today Player of the Year award. Williams also was named a McDonald's All-American, where she was named the game's MVP after scoring 22 points and leading the West team to an 82-79 victory. Williams was awarded the Morgan Wootten Award, which is given each year to "the McDonald's All American who best exhibits outstanding character, leadership and the values of a student-athlete in the classroom and the community". Williams was also named to the 2018 Jordan Brand Classic team.
The 2020–21 Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball team represented the University of Mississippi during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Rebels, led by third-year head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, played their home games at The Pavilion at Ole Miss and competed as members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The Rebels finished the season 15–12 and received an at-large bid to the Women's National Invitation Tournament, where they lost to Rice in the championship game.
Aliyah Boston is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She plays the power forward and center positions. She was named 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year in a unanimous vote and the AP Rookie of the Year. She played college basketball at the University of South Carolina.
Peggie Gillom-Granderson is a chaplain at the University of Mississippi since 2009. Before starting her religious position, Gillom played on the Ole Miss Rebels women's basketball team between 1976 and 1980. During her time at Ole Miss, Gillom set career records for Mississippi with 2,486 points and 1,271 rebounds. After university, Gillom briefly played in the Women's Professional Basketball League for a year with the Dallas Diamonds. As an assistant coach, Gillom worked with Ole Miss from 1981 to 1997 before continuing her assistant coaching tenure in the Women's National Basketball Association. With the Houston Comets, Gillom and her team won the 1997 WNBA Championship.
NaLyssa Smith is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for Baylor, winning the NCAA Division I Championship in 2019 and the Wade Trophy in 2021. She was drafted second overall by the Fever in the 2022 WNBA draft.
Evina Westbrook is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA. She most recently played for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at UConn and Tennessee. She was selected in the 2nd Round of the 2022 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. During her time in the WNBA, Westbrook has played for the Minnesota Lynx and the Washington Mystics.
