Game Recap: Fever Nearly Complete Comeback at Mystics to End Regular Season
Fri, Sep 20, 2024, 2:47 AM
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Indiana Fever (20-20) came up just short, 92-91, in its final matchup of the regular season against the Washington Mystics at Capital One Arena on Thursday night. Thursday’s game was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 20,711, which set a WNBA record for the largest attendance in league history. Indiana will now travel to face the No. 3 seed Connecticut Sun to begin its first round series in the 2024 WNBA Playoffs on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ABC.
Indiana’s bench finished with a season-best 53 points scored, and four Fever players scored in double figures. Fever guard Kristy Wallace led Indiana off the bench with a season-high 17 points and four rebounds. Fever forward NaLyssa Smith followed with 16 points and five rebounds, while center Aliyah Boston and reserve forward Katie Lou Samuelson both added 10 points and combined for seven rebounds, six assists and three steals in the loss. Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark recorded eight points, eight assists and five rebounds in roughly 20 minutes. Clark ended the night with the franchise record for most points scored in a regular season with 769 points. Indiana shot 53.1 percent (33-of-64) from the field and 10-of-20 from 3-point range in the loss and tied a season-high with 28 assists.
Indiana led 20-2 to begin the first quarter, but back-to-back 3-point field goals plus a layup from Washington’s side toward the end of the first quarter sparked a 20-4 run from the Mystics and Indiana only led, 24-22, going into the second quarter. The Mystics’ late first-quarter run bled into the second quarter and Washington ultimately led, 52-45, at the half. Indiana was forced to call a timeout after Washington opened up the second half on a 12-3 run, but the Mystics outscored Indiana again, 30-21, and led by 16 points going into the final quarter. The Fever went on a 22-8 surge to end the game and outscored Washington, 25-10, but it wasn’t enough to complete the comeback effort fueled by the Fever bench.
Five Mystics (14-26) players scored in double-figures in the close win, led by reserve forward Sika Koné’s game-high 20 points on 7-of-10 field goal shooting as well as seven rebounds and two assists. Mystics guard Ariel Atkins and forward Emily Engstler both notched 17 points. Atkins scored 11 of her 17 points in the second quarter alone and also recorded three steals. Engstler tied a season-high in a game with three made 3-point field goals and tallied five rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal, too.
UP NEXT
The Fever start the first round of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs at the Connecticut Sun on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. Sunday’s game will be broadcast on ABC.
