Washington is one victory from title

Delle Donne to be a superstar on Sunday, they just needed her to be out on the court.

The WNBA’s MVP provided an emotional lift by playing through a back injury and her teammates responded with a solid effort to beat Connecticut 94-81 and move the Mystics within a victory of winning their first championship.

Delle Donne, who has a herniated disk that is pinching a nerve in her back, had not practiced since leaving Game 2 with back spasms. She finished with 13 points, hitting 5 of her 6 shots and played 26 minutes.

“Ijustwanttobealeader for this team. I love them. I did nothing, I was just on the court, they carried me and they’ve done that all season long,” Delle Donne said. “I love them to death. We have one more to go.”

The 6-foot-5 wing was clearly limited in her movement and stayed mostly on the perimeter, but was effective enough to command the attention of Connecticut’s defense.

“Her presence alone, whether she’s 100% or 10% just instills confidence in the rest of the group,” said guard Kristi Toliver. “She showed a lot of character. She showed a lot of heart just being out there on the court today.”

Toliver, Emma Meesseman and Natasha Cloud carried the offense. Meesseman had 21 points off the bench, including nine to start the fourth quarter. Toliver added 20 points and 10 assists. Cloud chipped in with 19 points. The team made 16 of 27 shots from behind the arc.

Washington will try and close out the series on Tuesday night in Connecticut.