It has been some time since Brittney Griner and Elena Delle Donne squared off on the court.
Now, an injury to Griner could keep the two superstars from matching up again Friday night, when her struggling Phoenix Mercury visit Delle Donne and the Mystics in Washington, D.C.
Due to various circumstances in the careers of these WBNA stalwarts, Griner and Delle Donne have not gone head-to-head since Aug. 4, 2019. Griner had 26 points with nine rebounds and eight assists, while Delle Donne scored 18 in that 103-82 Mercury victory.
A renewal of their on-court rivalry could be on hold after Griner (20.1 points, 6.5 rebounds per game) sat out the second half of Tuesday's 83-69 loss to Seattle with a hip issue.
Griner's status is uncertain Friday for the Mercury (2-6), who are 1-3 on the road and yielding a league-worst 86.0 points per game this season.
"It's hard when you don't have (BG) in the game, you can't predict her getting hurt," Phoenix teammate Sophie Cunningham told ESPN after scoring 21 points against the Storm.
"But you've got to show up. Keep working hard. Eventually things will turn around."
Washington (5-4) hopes to quickly turn things around following Tuesday's 87-66 loss at Indiana. Delle Donne (18.4 points, 6.9 rebounds per game) returned from missing the previous contest with neck tightness to score 17.
Delle Donne was the only player in double figures for the Mystics, who shot 33.3 percent and allowed Indiana to make 47.1 percent of its shots while yielding their second-most points of 2023.
"We just got outworked -- it's as simple as that," Mystics guard Brittney Sykes told The Washington Post. "It's literally, we either do it and win, or we don't and we get a result like you did (against Indiana).
"We've got to eat (that) one and get ready for the weekend."
Without Griner, Phoenix still won two of the three meetings against Washington in 2022. Delle Donne totaled 26 points while playing in two of those contests.
