2024-06-21T14:44:05.419ZMystics guard Julie Vanloo gets off a shot against Sun guard Tiffany Mitchell as the shot clock runs out during the first half. Vanloo finished with 12 points on the night. (John McDonnell/for The Washington Post)DiDi Richards typically serves as the Washington Mystics’ hype person during pregame introductions. She stands at the end of the handshake line as each starter hops off the bench after being announced and daps each one with a bit of choreography. Things, however, got a bit confusing Thursday against the Connecticut Sun.Richards made the first start of her career with just eight Mystics available because of injury, but she still took her normal position. As her name drew near, Richards began to jog to the bench so she could turn around and go down the line herself, but it wasn’t her turn and Richards scurried back. When she was finally called, Karlie Samuelson took her place and they performed their routine shimmy.It was that kind of night at Entertainment and Sports Arena, where the Mystics had more staff members sitting on the bench than available players. By the time it was over, Washington delivered a gutsy performance that fell just short in a 94-91 overtime loss to one of the top teams in the league.The game was there for the taking for the Mystics (4-14). Washington led by seven with 2:37 to go, but went scoreless in that final stretch and a DiJonai Carrington layup with 24.3 seconds forced overtime.Carrington carried the Sun (14-3) in overtime, scoring 10 of its 12 points and finishing with 22 on the night. Her three-pointer with 57.3 seconds remaining put Connecticut up 92-88.“Proud of the way we played and, yet at the same time, it feels like one we let slip,” Mystics Coach Eric Thibault said. “It’s the first time, probably, we’ve had a lead down the stretch of a game like that that we let get away. It’s a chance to close out a good team, had a couple possessions we’d like back in the last couple minutes. At the same time we got two looks to win the game."The Mystics had chances to win in regulation but they evaporated in turnovers and an offensive foul. In overtime, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough missed a jumper with 7.1 seconds left that would have given Washington the lead.“Great effort. I expect nothing less from this group. But we let it slip. We’re not taking a moral victory out of that," Thibault said.DiDi Richards, who made a rare start for the Mystics, is guarded by Sun guard Rachel Banham. (John McDonnell/for The Washington Post)Myisha Hines-Allen led Washington with 21 points and seven rebounds while Stefanie Dolson posted 18 points, four assists and three rebounds. Julie Vanloo added 12 points and both Ariel Atkins, who left the game for a stretch in the third quarter after getting hit in the face, and Jade Melbourne finished with 10.DeWanna Bonner scored 24 and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Sun while Tyasha Harris put up 23 points.The Mystics were down three full-time starters and a part-time starter because of injury. Point guard Brittney Sykes (left foot sprain) has missed all but three games and Samuelson missed her first after breaking a bone in her left hand. Both are out until after the Olympic break, which runs from July 21 to Aug. 14. Power forward Shakira Austin (hip) missed her 12th game and rookie Aaliyah Edwards, who had started in place of Austin, missed her third straight game with lower back injury. That left Richards making the first start of her career with a dearth of small forwards on the roster and Sykes, Samuelson and Edwards standing on the sideline in street clothes. Austin was home with an illness.All of that seemed to set the Mystics up for trouble against a Sun team that came to Washington a bit ticked off after consecutive losses. That’s what made the first quarter such a surprise as the Mystics used a 13-3 run to take a 23-13 lead and finished the quarter up 32-21.“We can fight,” Dolson said. “We definitely were down a lot of people today. And we will be, but we've all stepped up. We all played really hard. It definitely sucks to lose because we had that one. But we're continuing to get better, so still got to look at the positives.”Walker-Kimbrough added, “I told the bench today, today's about making the uncomfortable comfortable.”The Sun snatched the lead back with a 20-2 second-quarter run as the Mystics’ offense stalled and Connecticut began to look like its dominant self with Bonner heating up. But Dolson, who continued her stellar play of late, hit back-to-back baskets that started an 11-3 run that sent Washington into halftime with a 50-46 lead.The second half was defined by runs, with the Mystics going on a 9-1 push in the fourth quarter to build an 82-75 lead with 2:37 remaining. But Connecticut had the final answers, with Harris hitting a huge three-pointer with 49 seconds remaining and Carrington knotting the game at 82 with a layup.Walker-Kimbrough (16 points) had an open look from the left corner with 7.3 seconds left in