Nick Wass/Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Elena Delle Donne and Kristi Toliver stated their shared goal when they joined the Mystics for the 2017 season: Win the championship that the franchise never had.
In the final minute of doing just that on Thursday, after Toliver captured a loose ball and drew a foul in Game 5 of the W.N.B.A. finals against the Connecticut Sun, Delle Donne ambled over and hugged her friend and teammate. With an 89-78 victory, the two had combined forces — Delle Donne’s transcendence with Toliver’s pedigree — to become, together, what they’d set out to be: champions.