When DeWanna Bonner gets frustrated on the court, Erica McCall knows what she’ll do. Bonner will put her head down and attack the lane, using her combination of height and speed to wreak havoc on opposing defenders — including her sister.
When the Washington Mystics and McCall take the floor Friday against the Connecticut Suns and Bonner, McCall doesn’t expect her team to stop Bonner. Instead, she hopes to contain her just enough to give the Mystics a chance, leaning on what she learned when the sisters played on the same team for a month this offseason.
They had never done that before. McCall and Bonner had played each other in the WNBA, but growing up in separate households, McCall said they hadn’t played pick-up games and 1-on-1 contests like some siblings might.
But when Bonner joined KSC Szekszárd, the Hungarian team McCall has played with for four offseasons, the pair made up for lost time. They learned each other’s strengths and weaknesses, laughed off the heated moments that can occur during competition and even carpooled to practices.
“Felt like a mom,” McCall laughed. “Picked her up, texted her like, ‘I’m outside!’ Honked and stuff.”
The 10-minute car rides from Bonner’s apartment to practice were an everyday routine McCall wouldn’t trade for anything. With an eight-year gap in age, and with Bonner growing up in Alabama while McCall lived in California, the drives through Szekszárd, a small city in southern Hungary, were an enjoyment on their own.
And on the court together for that month playing with KSC Szekszárd, McCall shook the early nerves that accompanied playing alongside her idol, enjoying the sister bonding time while also learning from a three-time WNBA All-Star.
“We haven’t really been as close of sisters as we would like,” McCall said. “This opportunity for us to get to know each other and play with each other was so special for us and something we’ll never forget. … It was a long, long time in the making for us to be able to do that, so I absolutely loved it.”
McCall admits those first few practices with Bonner were nerve-wracking. She wasn’t sure about how to interact with her sister as first-time teammates. Bonner was McCall’s sister, but she is also an “incredible player,” McCall said.
Bonner was selected by the Phoenix Mercury in 2009 with the fifth overall pick. She’s won two WNBA championships and was voted the league’s Sixth Woman of the Year on three occasions. McCall is still early in her professional career, bouncing between the Indiana Fever, Atlanta Dream and Minnesota Lynx in 2020 before Washington signed her this offseason.
When Bonner was drafted, the younger McCall made it a goal of her own to be selected — and she was, taken in the second round of the 2017 draft. McCall wears the No. 24 jersey because her older sister does (Bonner took No. 25 for KSC Szekszárd, though, because she was the newcomer to that team).
“I was a little starstruck,” McCall said, “even though she’s my sister.”
McCall soon got over that initial awe, communicating well with Bonner on the floor. Mystics coach Mike Thibault hopes “she can give us little insights” into defending Bonner, who’s averaging 18.7 points per game so far this season.
McCall feels like she grew from the experience, taking notes from Bonner’s play and her mental approach. When McCall got tense, with the team down after a rough first quarter against a tough opponent, Bonner’s composure helped her relax.
McCall had already studied Bonner’s game, but playing with her gave new insight into the details that separate her sister from the average WNBA player.
And when the siblings bickered on the court, McCall couldn’t help but smile through her frustration.
“Ah, that’s so cool,” she’d think. “We had our first little banter on the court.”
McCall might not find it as amusing on Friday, should Bonner score in bunches against the Mystics. Thibault pointed out Bonner’s threat from behind the three-point arc and down low, using her 6-foot-4 frame to pull in rebounds.
But whatever the outcome, McCall is just happy to be back on the court alongside her sister — even if this time she won’t be able to cheer as she did in Hungary when Bonner hit shots.
“Every time I play against my sister, it’s like a dream come true,” McCall said, “because I’ve always looked up to her.”
