Caitlin Clark broke Washington hearts with a last-second dagger at their home on Monday night. A game later, Sonia Citron found herself on the same side of the story, only with different opponents. The young Mystics were dominating the Tempo with an 18-point lead at one point in the game. However, Marina Mabrey took matters into her hands with 18 of her 27 points in the fourth-quarter rally as Toronto took the lead with barely any time left on the clock. But what came next from Sonia Citron reminded the fans of Clark’s buzzer-beater.

With just 2.1 seconds left in the regulation, Tempo was leading 85-84 thanks to their late surge. A whistle at that point forced a jump ball between Lauren Betts and Brittney Sykes. Despite leading the game for 63% of the game, a win for the Mystics seemed tough for the young group. However, Citron made sure the Mystics would not suffer another heartbreaking loss on their home floor. And the WNBA could not help but put the game-winner under the spotlight it deserved.

“SONIA CITRON FOR THE WIN 🚨She hit the turn around jumper to put the @washmystics up 1-PT (86-85) and win the game!,” WNBA’s official website posted alongside a video of the clutch play.

Firstly, the optics were clearly in Betts’ favor against Sykes. So, even though the veteran jumped high, all she could manage was to move the ball further towards the rookie’s side. Betts then tipped the ball, and Citron caught it for a quick turnaround 15-ft jumper. The buzzer beat halfway through the shot as the ball went into the basket, effectively ending the game for a close 86-85 win for the Mystics.

After the game, the Player of the Game also revealed what was going on in her head as the clock wound down:

“I just remember if Lauren tips it to me, I have to put it up,” Citron told the media after the game. “She did a great job winning the tip. I got it, and I had to shoot it. I didn’t have a choice. Luckily, it went in.”

Betts deserved plenty of praise beyond the final shot. The rookie turned in the best performance of her young WNBA career, leading Washington with a career-high 18 points while adding four rebounds and two steals. With Kiki Iriafen sidelined by a right ankle sprain, Betts stepped into a larger role and delivered, helping the Mystics build the cushion they would ultimately need to survive Toronto’s late comeback.

For the CareFirst Arena crowd, it was the second dramatic game-winner they had witnessed in the span of a week.

Just days earlier, opponent Caitlin Clark had shot a similar game-winning logo-3, much to their dismay. When she spoke about it, she also mentioned that all she was thinking at the time was how she needed to make the shot, showing a parallel between how the two guards think about the game.

Everyone, too, immediately noticed this parallel for Citron as the community celebrated the second-year player’s game-winning buzzer-beater. 

Sonia Citron Earns Poetic Justice After Caitlin Clark-Like Buzzer Beater Against The Tempo

“Sonia Citron pretty much just did to the Tempo what Caitlin Clark did to her team the other night—and the Mystics get the 86-85 victory with that game-winning shot! 🏀” wrote columnist Adrienne Ross of The Adrienne Ross Show.

The Mystics may be the youngest team in the WNBA, but they have shown time and again that they can go toe-to-toe with the league’s best. What they haven’t quite mastered yet is closing games without a little drama. Take their last game, for example.

The Fever were leading for most of the time in that game, and the Mystics were rallying back. But with barely 51 seconds left in the game, the Mystics snatched the lead and challenged the Fever to come back from a 75-76 hole. But Clark did not panic.

With four seconds left in the game, Sophie Cunningham sent the ball inbound directly to Clark on the opposite side of the court. Cotie McMahon gambled a steal, which cost the Mystics the win. Clark cut from the backscreen and positioned herself on the logo for a comfortable, unchallenged three to help the team to a 78-76 win.

But this time around, Citron found herself on the other side of the story, delivering a game-winner of her own after a heartbreaking loss just days earlier. And if you ask head coach Sydney Johnson, games like these are all part of the growth process for the team.

“I think it’s centering ourselves in what we’re trying to do, big picture, and that is to take one of the youngest teams in the history of the league, across the finish line…these games are part of that growth, but not to lose perspective in terms of the biggest win, which is, development, development, development, individually and as a team,” he said in the postgame press conference, as per SB Nation.

Alexa Phillipou of ESPN was so impressed by the shot that she even labeled it as: “Shot of the season?!”

“The shot clock awareness, the turnaround, all of it was just chef’s kiss!” Natalie Esquire, the two-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, wrote.

Citron did not know if the ball was coming to her off the tip while the play was drawn up for Clark. And Citron had a contested shot while Clark was pretty open. But on the other hand, Clark shot from 31 feet, which very few players in this league can do, especially in a crunch situation when only 1.2 seconds are left in the game. It ultimately depends on perspective. But one thing is clear: Citron has made a statement. 

“The way she shot that. You can tell she’s practiced that shot millions of times,” wrote Jaime Lardis, another online sports personality. Meanwhile, Chris Williamson mentioned: “Everybody: Sonia, thank you for saving our basketball lives 😳😳😳😳😳Sonia probably: I’m just a girl working my night shift lol.”

Citron finished with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists. Her accuracy was rather off by her standards, shooting 6-16 from the field and 1-6 from the three-point line. Yet, with this shot, she has established that her team can rely on her even in sticky situations.