Hopeful Mystics need win over Fever and some help

Field Level Media|published: Wed 18th September, 16:52 2024

Washington Mystics guard Ariel Atkins (7) guards Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) Wednesday, July 10, 2024, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Win, wait and hope.

That's all the Washington Mystics can do as their bid to make the playoffs comes down to Thursday's regular-season finale against the visiting Indiana Fever.

Washington (13-26) is one of three teams battling for the eighth and final spot, but the Mystics have limited control of their postseason fate.

Their only path is a win over Indiana (20-19) coupled with losses Thursday by both the eighth-place Atlanta Dream (14-25) and the Chicago Sky (13-26).

The Mystics fell out of a tie with Atlanta and Chicago for the No. 8 seed following Tuesday's 87-71 home loss to the New York Liberty. Ariel Atkins scored 22 points to lead Washington, which has lost two straight games since winning seven of nine.

Still, few could have expected the Mystics to sniff the playoffs after they started a franchise-worst 0-12. If all goes well on Thursday, the Mystics would set a WNBA record for recovering from the worst start to make the playoffs.

"We've got one more shot to represent ourselves and play the way that we have shown over the course of the year," coach Eric Thibault told The Washington Post. "We've shown really good resilience over the course of the season, and we have a chance to show it one more time. ... Everybody's got to get out of their own heads a little bit."

Thibault's squad is 1-2 this season against the Fever, who have secured their first playoff berth since 2016. Indiana is locked in as the No. 6 seed and will face either the Connecticut Sun or the two-time defending champion Las Vegas Aces in the first round.

"We're not just happy to be (in the playoffs)," rookie guard Caitlin Clark said. "We really feel like we can compete with every single team."

Clark's stirring first season has featured a pair of record-breaking feats in each of the Fever's last two games.

Last Friday, she eclipsed the league's single-season assist mark with her 317th dime in a 78-74 home loss to the Aces. Against the visiting Dallas Wings on Sunday, Clark tallied a career-high 35 points to give her 761 this season, passing Seimone Augustus (744 with Minnesota in 2006) for the rookie scoring record. Indiana edged Dallas 110-109.

--Field Level Media