Washington Mystics of USA’s Nigerian-born women’s basketball sensation, Michaela Onyenwere notched 30 points in an epic performance, as her side made history in a stunning and record setting 124-123 victory over Portland Fire, Sports247 reports.
Onyenwere’s night of glory came during a thrilling USA Women National Basketball Association (WNBA) game, in which Fire and Mystics played the second ever quadruple-overtime game in the elite championship’s history.
Her delight was cemented when Sonia Citron’s layup came for the team from Washington with 21.4 seconds remaining in the fourth overtime period and ended up being the difference between both sides, as the second-year pro finished with a career-high 32 points.
With two points better off than Onyenwere’s total haul, Citron’s performance hogged all headlines, as she hit 13-of-14 free throws and also grabbed six rebounds, though she eventually had to leave the game early due to leg cramps.
Nonetheless, Onyenwere cherished it all, as her side evened their current record at 9-9 and ended a two-game losing skid, while Kiki Iriafen added 27 points with 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals, with Shakira Austin snaring 13 boards for The Mystics.
Sports247 reports further that it is another leap for the 26-year-old Onyenwere, who was named a McDonald’s All-American star in 2017 during her high school days and then played college basketball with UCLA Bruins in the Pac-12 Conference.
She was also named Top-5 Finalist for the Cheryl Miller Award and finished her college career fourth on UCLA’s all-time scoring list – with 1,888-career points – after which she was sixth overall in the 2021 WNBA draft by New York Liberty.
During her first season in 2021, Onyenwere was named in the WNBA’s All-Rookie Team and emerged as Rookie of The Year, becoming the first player in her team’s long history to win the award, though her role diminished in her second season.
Playing under new head coach, Sandy Brondello, Onyenwere was moved to the bench, started only one game all season long and struggled with nagging injuries, which dropped her minutes from an average of 22.2 in 2021 to 13.7 in 2022.
She subsequently took her career abroad to Spar Girona and CB Avenida of Spain, OGM Ormanspor of Turkey and Jiangsu Phoenix of China, then returned to the USA with Phoenix Mercury and Chicago Sky before joining The Mystics early this year.
