Shakira Austin Named WNBA Player of the Week, Lifts Mystics Past Lynx

Just hours after Shakira Austin was honored by the WNBA, the Washington Mystics 6-foot-5 center scored a team-high 19 points to lead the Mystics to a 68-64 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C. Austin played high school basketball at Virginia’s James Monroe High School and Colonial Forge, where she won a VHSL state championship.

The Mystics improved to 7-8 and handed the Lynx (12-2) just their second loss of the season. 

“We got a young squad, ain’t scared of nobody and we’re coming out here and showing what we got,” Austin said during a postgame interview with the Monumental Sports Network. 

Austin was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week (June 16-June 22) after helping to lead the Mystics to a 2-1 record during the week. She averaged 19.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.3 blocks and 2.0 steals.  

This marks the first Player of the Week honor of Austin’s career and makes her the ninth player in franchise history to receive the recognition.  

During the week, Austin recorded a career-high 28 points (13-17 FG) 10 rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks against the Atlanta Dream on Friday, June 20. It marked her first double-double of the season. 

Austin, a Fredericksburg, Virginia native, was selected by the Mystics with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft and was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team.  

The fourth-year pro has been plagued by injuries throughout much of her WNBA career but is starting to hit her stride. 

“I’m just hungry,” said Austin. “I’m out here, I want to be on the floor. I want to be playing. And I’m showing that when I get out there, I do what I need to do. I’m just trying to stack games.” 

She spent her first two years of college basketball at the University of Maryland before transferring to Ole Miss where she was twice named First Team All-SEC. 

Austin played high school basketball for one season at Riverdale Baptist School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and was named a McDonald’s All-American in 2018.  

During her senior campaign at Riverdale Baptist, Austin averaged 17.4 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and guided the Lady Crusaders to a 22-5 record. 

Austin played her freshman season at Monroe and spent her sophomore and junior seasons at Colonial Forge High School (Va.) where she averaged 18.0 points, 12.3 rebounds and blocked 88 shots while leading Colonial Forge to the 2017 Virginia Class 6A state championship.