Game Preview: Fever finishes regular season at Mystics on Thursday night

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

Broadcast information
WTHR Channel 13/Prime Video

Possible 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, 5.7 rebounds, 8.4 assists)
Defender – Lexie Hull (5.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists)
Center – Aliyah Boston (14.1 points per game, 9.0 rebounds per game, 3.2 assists per game)
Forward – NaLyssa Smith (10.4 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists)

Washington Mystics (13-26)

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

GAME PREVIEW:

The Indiana Fever (20-19) will finish the 2024 regular season against the Washington Mystics on Thursday night at Capital One Arena, securing a spot in the WNBA playoffs for the first time since 2016. Indiana currently leads the regular season series 2-1 against Washington, with the last meeting ending in an 89-84 win for Washington on July 10 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Thursday’s game will be Indiana’s first road game since Sept. 1 after playing a six-game home series in early September. Indiana’s recent 110-109 win over the Dallas Wings on Sunday secured Indiana’s sixth spot in the 2024 WNBA playoffs. The eighth spot is still up for grabs on the final day of the regular season between the Mystics, Chicago Sky and Atlanta Dream.

On Tuesday, Washington fell to top-seeded New York Liberty 87-71, putting the Mystics one step behind the Atlanta Dream in the battle for the final playoff spot. The Dream beat the Sky 86-70 on Tuesday to secure another win heading into Thursday. The Mystics and Sky are tied at 13-26 for ninth place in the standings, but Washington has the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Sky while the Mystics and Dream share the season series. For Washington to have a chance at eighth place, the Mystics must win against Indiana on Thursday and all three of the above teams must finish with the same score.

In the last meeting on July 10, Indiana outscored Washington in points in the paint (42-38), fast break points (26-9) and 53.4 percent shooting, but the Mystics’ bench outscored Indiana (35-21). In all three meetings with the Mystics, Fever guards Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark and Fever forward NaLyssa Smith each scored in double figures. In Indiana’s first win over Washington on June 7, Clark scored 30 points and made seven 3-point field goals, the most made 3-point field goals by a rookie in franchise history. The Fever also set a franchise record for most made 3-point field goals (16) in a game during that game. In the second win over Washington on June 19, Fever center Aliyah Boston and Mitchell each scored 22 points. Indiana scored more points in the paint than Washington (38-26) and grabbed more rebounds than the Mystics (37-31).

In all three meetings with Indiana, Mystics center Stefanie Dolson and guard Ariel Atkins 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 against Indiana, Atkins led the way with 27 points and 10 of 17 shooting. Washington has shown the strength of its reserve players, outscoring Indiana by at least three points in all three meetings. Entering the Olympic break, Washington was 6-19 and at the bottom of the league standings. Washington is now battling for the final playoff spot, ranking third in the league in assists with an average of 21.5 assists per game and second in three-point shooting at 36.6 percent.

Indiana ranks 3rd in the league in points per game, averaging 84.8 points per game, while Mitchell and Clark rank 7th and 8th, respectively, averaging more than 19.5 points per game. The Fever ranks 4th in the league in rebounds per game, averaging 35.1 rebounds per game, Boston ranks 6th in the league in rebounds per game, averaging 9.0 rebounds per game, and Smith ranks 14th, averaging 7.2 rebounds per game.