Top scorers on display when Mystics, Storm meet (May 21, 2017)

Elena Delle Donne is filling the Washington Mystics' need for an offensive force, averaging 25.5 points through the season's first two games.

Only one player in the WNBA is averaging more points than Delle Donne, the league's 2015 Most Valuable Player acquired by the Mystics during the offseason. That player is Seattle guard Jewell Loyd, who along with Breanna Stewart is fueling the Storm's rebuilding plan.

Loyd is producing 26 points per game.

The league's most prolific scorers meet Sunday in Seattle when the Storm (1-1) host the Mystics (1-1).

After a season-opening home win over San Antonio, Washington headed West for a Friday matchup against defending WNBA champion Los Angeles. Delle Donne led the Mystics in scoring both times, including 27 against the Sparks, but the outcome was different against Los Angeles.

Washington trailed by 12 points after the first quarter and never recovered, falling 99-89.

"They did most of their damage in the first quarter," Mystics coach Mike Thibault said of the Sparks, who led 34-22 after one quarter and 59-48 at halftime despite 15 points from Delle Donne.

"End of the first, their traps turned us over a couple of times. (We) took a couple of bad shots, sped us up a little bit," Thibault said. "We knew we were going to get that kind of pressure coming here."

There was some pressure on Delle Donne upon joining Washington via a trade with the Chicago Sky in the league's biggest transaction of the offseason.

The Mystics, coming off a 13-21 season, have posted a winning record only once since 2010. Now they are considered a title contender thanks to the additions of Delle Donne and Kristi Toliver to go with holdovers Emma Meesseman and Tayler Hill.

Delle Donne is averaging 25.5 points through two games. Though her trademark 3-point touch hasn't arrived yet (1 of 6), she is shooting 64 percent (16 of 25) from the field and has made 18 of 19 free throws.

Loyd is thriving from deep. The second-year player sank 3 of 4 3-point tries and scored 27 points in Seattle's 87-82 win over Indiana on May 14. She scored 25 points and made two 3-pointers the previous day during a 78-68 loss at Los Angeles.

Stewart scored 15 points against the Fever and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer for a 79-77 lead with 1:40 remaining.

"You saw a team that's developed toughness and is figuring out how to make plays on both ends of the floor," Seattle coach Jenny Boucek told the Storm's website. "I didn't think we played great. We didn't have a lot of gas in the tank because we used a lot of it (at Los Angeles), but they showed a lot of toughness to figure out a way to win when they weren't feeling their best, which is huge for us."

Crystal Langhorne, who began her career with Washington, scored 17 points for Seattle on 7-of-8 shooting against Indiana.

The Mystics went 1-2 against the Storm last season, but their win came in Seattle.

Meesseman, who leads the Mystics with an average of five assists per game, scored 19 points in Washington's 84-82 victory over Seattle last May 26. Loyd had 26 points in the other game in Seattle as the Storm dominated 80-51 on July 15.