She scored 33 points in Game 2 of the Washington Mystics’ loss to the New York Liberty in the 2023 WNBA Playoffs.
On this Saturday of Natasha Cloud Week, we will take a look at her last game in a Washington uniform on Sept. 19, 2023 against the New York Liberty.
The Washington Mystics lost 90-85 in overtime against the New York Liberty in Game 2 of their first round playoff series. In that game, the Mystics were able to get most of their starters back together after an injury-plagued season that saw guard Ariel Atkins and franchise player Elena Delle Donne miss significant time.
While they both scored in double digits, Atkins and Delle Donne both shot under 30 percent from the field. The Liberty especially outmatched Washington the front court as Breanna Stewart scored 27 points and Jonquel Jones added 19 more.
Two members of Washington’s three-guard backcourt played a lot better. Brittney Sykes, who would go onto be named to the All-WNBA Defensive Second Team, scored 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting. But it was Cloud who led the Mystics in minutes played (42) and points (33), doing so on 12-of-22 shooting. Cloud also added 9 assists, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. You can see her highlights in the video above.
Without Cloud’s performance that day, the Mystics could have been blown out. But Washington, and Cloud especially had an excellent day. From hindsight now that she is with the Phoenix Mercury, this game was effectively and a well-fitting “capstone project” of her career.
I’m not sure how much Cloud will continue to build on that performance and her 2023 WNBA season as a whole, a career-high 12.7 points and 6.3 assists per game for Phoenix. But I’m sure that she will continue to play at that All-Star and All-Defensive team level like she has for the last several years.