Game Preview: Fever closes out regular season at Mystics on Thursday night

Indiana Fever at Washington Mystics
Thursday September 19th
Capital One Arena | 7:00 p.m. ET

Broadcast information
WTHR Channel 13/Prime Video

Likely starters

Indiana Fever (20-19)

Guard – Kelsey Mitchell (19.6 points per game, 2.5 rebounds per game, 1.8 assists per game)
Guard – Caitlin Clark (19.5 points per game, 5.7 rebounds per game, 8.4 assists per game)
Guard – Lexie Hull (5.6 points per game, 2.5 rebounds per game, 1.1 assists per game)
Center – Aliyah Boston (14.1 points per game, 9.0 rebounds per game, 3.2 assists per game)
Forward – NaLyssa Smith (10.4 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game, 1.1 assists per game)

Washington Mystics (13-26)

Guard – Ariel Atkins (14.9 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, 3.1 assists per game)
Guard – Julie Vanloo (7.5 points per game, 1.6 rebounds per game, 4.4 assists per game)
Center – Stefanie Dolson (9.7 points per game, 4.9 rebounds per game, 2.7 assists per game)
Forward – Emily Engstler (5.8 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game, 1.4 assists per game)
Forward – Brittney Sykes (12.2 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game, 3.1 assists per game)

Game Status Report

Indiana: No injuries.

Washington: Shakira Austin – OUT (left ankle), Aaliyah Edwards – OUT (right ankle)

EXAMPLE OF THE GAME:

The Indiana Fever (20-19) close out the 2024 regular season at Capital One Arena against the Washington Mystics on Thursday night, clinching a spot in the WNBA Playoffs for the first time since 2016. Indiana currently leads Washington 2-1 in the regular-season series, with the last game resulting in an 89-84 victory for Washington on July 10 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Thursday’s game will be Indiana’s first away game since Sept. 1 after playing a six-game home slate in early September. Indiana’s latest 110-109 win over the Dallas Wings on Sunday secured the No. 6 seed in the 2024 WNBA playoffs. The No. 8 seed is still in contention for the final day of the regular season between the Mystics, Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream.

On Tuesday, Washington lost to top-seeded New York Liberty 87-71, leaving the Mystics one step behind the Atlanta Dream for the final playoff spot. The Dream defeated the Sky 86-70 on Tuesday and added another win on Thursday. The Mystics and Sky are tied at 13-26 and share ninth place in the standings, but Washington holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Sky, while the Mystics and Dream split the season series. To have a shot at the eighth spot, the Mystics must beat Indiana on Thursday and all three of the aforementioned teams must finish with the same record.

On July 10, in the most recent matchup, Indiana outscored Washington in paint points, 42-38, fast break points, 26-9 and shot 53.4 percent from the field, but the Mystics bench outscored Indiana, 35-21. In all three matchups with the Mystics, Fever guards Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark and Fever forward NaLyssa Smith have all scored in double figures. In Indiana’s first win against Washington on June 7, Clark had 30 points and made seven 3-point field goals, marking the most 3-point field goals made by a rookie in franchise history. Also in that game, the Fever set a franchise record for most 3-point field goals made (16) in a game. In the second win against Washington on June 19, Fever center Aliyah Boston and Mitchell both scored 22 points. Indiana outscored Washington in points (38-26) and outscored the Mystics in rebounds (37-31).

In all three games with Indiana, Mystics center Stefanie Dolson and guard Ariel Atkins have both scored in double figures. In the first game, five Mystics players scored at least 10 points, with Dolson leading the way with 19 points, six rebounds and three assists. In the second game with Indiana, Atkins led the way with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-17 field goal shooting. Washington has shown the strength of its bench by outscoring Indiana by at least three points in all three games. Entering the Olympic break, Washington compiled a 6-19 record and was near the bottom of the league standings. Now battling for the final playoff spot, Washington ranks third in the league in assists, averaging 21.5 assists per game and second in three-point shooting at 36.6 percent.

Indiana ranks third in the league in points per game, averaging 84.8 points per game, while Mitchell and Clark rank seventh and eighth respectively, averaging over 19.5 points per game. The Fever rank fourth in the league in rebounds per game, averaging 35.1 rebounds per game, with Boston ranking sixth in the league in rebounds per game with 9.0 rebounds per game and Smith ranking 14th, averaging 7.2 rebounds per game.