Elena Delle Donne scored 22 points and the Washington Mystics built momentum for the playoffs by trouncing the visiting Indiana Fever 95-83 in Sunday afternoon’s regular-season finale.
The Mystics (22-14) will be the No. 5 seed for the WNBA playoffs. They open against fourth-seeded Seattle on Thursday night and will play another road game against the Storm next weekend. They’ll only get a postseason home game if a Game 3 is needed or if they advance to the next round. Washington posted a 12-6 home record during the regular season.
The Fever (5-31) lost their 18th consecutive game. They last won a game June 19 against the Chicago Sky.
Ariel Atkins racked up 15 points, Shakira Austin finished with 11 points and Natasha Cloud had 10 points for the Mystics, who won seven of their last 10 games. Washington went 30-for-35 on free throws.
Tiffany Mitchell, who made seven of nine shots from the field, led the Fever with 18 points. Emma Cannon added 14 points and Lexie Hull had 11 points.
The Fever was 0-4 vs. the Mystics this year.
Indiana’s defensive breakdowns were so numerous that even the Fever’s 56.9-percent shooting from the field and 17-for-20 free-throw shooting weren’t enough to make the margin tight. Twenty-two total turnovers hurt Indiana’s cause.
Washington ended up making 48.3 percent of its shots from the field, though it was 7-for-21 on 3-point attempts.
The Mystics shot 62.1 percent from the field in the first half while building a 57-40 lead. Delle Donne poured in 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting before the break.
Indiana shot 55.6 percent in the first half, but pulled in only one offensive rebound.
Washington led 31-27 after the first quarter and then scored the first seven points of the second quarter — all by Delle Donne.
–Field Level Media
