On Sunday, the WNBA will be focusing on what was.
Up in Uncasville, the Connecticut Sun will hold their second-to-last home game ever, hosting the Minnesota Lynx (1 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass). Out in LA, the Los Angeles Sparks will unveil Lisa Leslie’s statue
in conjunction with the second-to-last home game of Nneka Ogwumike’s career (7 p.m. ET, USA Network).There also will be league attention on what is, and will be.
The Washington
Mystics and Indiana Fever meet in one of the few final-week games that carries direct playoff implications (4 p.m. ET, NBA TV).
The Fever, one of two teams that Edwin Garcia identified as a true contender and the team Zack Ward considers under the second-most pressure to win it all, first need to secure homecourt advantage in the first round, as they presently occupy the No. 5 seed. The No. 6-seed Dallas Wings and No. 7-seed New York Liberty threaten from below, with Dallas only half a game back and New York a game back.
With a win, the No. 8-seed Mystics likewise would loom. Washington also should bank two more wins before the season ends, as their schedule closes out with games against the Sun and Chicago Sky. In contrast, Indiana has two games in Minnesota to finish their regular season.
So, things are tighter between the Fever and Mystics than their current No. 5 and No. 8 seeds might suggest. That, plus the fact the teams split the first two games in the season series by a combined four points, adds even more weight to this matchup.
This game, with the outcome’s subsequent impact on playoff seeding, could determine whether Indy can reach the heights that some imagine them capable of achieving. Or, the result could set up Washington to continue to announce themselves as ahead of their envisioned contention schedule.
With so much on the line, let’s look back at the past matchups, as well as two players who could be crucial in this third and final one. In the comments, give us your X factors for the Mystics-Fever rubber match.
The first two Mystics-Fever games delivered the drama
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Way back on May 15 in Indianapolis, the Mystics beat the Fever in overtime, 104-102. A Caitlin Clark triple sent the game into the extra period before Kelsey Mitchell missed a 3 at the end of overtime that could have forced another extra five minutes.
Sonia Citron led the Mystics with 30 points; however, it was the interior duo of Kiki Iriafen and Shakira Austin that gave DC their advantage.
Iriafen had a 25-point and 13-rebound double-double, with Austin adding 19 points and nine rebounds, leading the Mystics to claim a 44-29 edge on the glass and an even more demonstrative 58-28 points-in-the-paint win. Overall, Washington was an incredibly efficient 56 percent from the field as a team, even making a respectable six of their very-low 16 3-point attempts.
In contrast, Indiana remained in contact due to their prolific proficiency from behind the arc, taking 42 3-pointers and making 17 of them. Clark was responsible for seven of those 3s on her way to 32 points; she also tallied 10 assists. Mitchell added four more 3-balls en route to her 24 points.
In early June in DC, the second matchup featured more clutch drama from Clark, capped by the game-winning 3.
An apparent in-bound audible from Sophie Cunningham, combined with an over-eager gamble for a steal from Cotie McMahon, left Clark open for a wing 3 with 1.2 seconds left. She drained it, giving the Fever the 78-76 win. Zack was in the building for all the dramatics.
The first game-winner of Clark’s WNBA career saved Indiana from what would have been a disastrous loss, as they once held a 17-point lead over Washington.
DC battled back despite losing Iriafen to an early ankle injury. Her absence neutralized the interior dominance the Mystics enjoyed in their win in Indy.
Instead, they benefitted from contributions from up-and-down the roster, headlined by 17 points, including 3-for-4 from 3, from Michaela Onyenwere. Led by Onyenwere, the Mystics nearly kept pace with the Fever from behind the arc, going 9-for-18 from downtown compared to Indy’s 10-for-29. Georgia Amoore made all four of her 3s as Citron chipped in two more; both players totaled 12 points in the game.
For the Fever, Clark finished with 19 points to lead Indiana, with Mitchell scoring 15 points—her second-lowest output of the season—and Aliyah Boston posting a double-double of 14 points and 10 boards.
Why Mikayala Timpson or Georgia Amoore could swing Mystics-Fever III
The first game between these two squads almost perfectly captures their contrast.
The Fever are going to try to outshoot opponents; the Mystics are going to try to outmuscle them. I would expect both teams to try to engineer this script on Sunday afternoon.
But to prevail, the Fever are going to need some extra muscle, while the Mystics will need to benefit from a shooting boost. That makes Mikayla Timpson and Amoore two key players who could swing this contest.
Why Mikayla Timpson is a potential game-changer
The games between these teams occurred well before Timpson became a rotational regular, much less a starter. She played a combined six minutes, taking just one shot, scoring no points and grabbing a lone rebound.
Timpson could top that production in the first minute on Sunday. In her 11 games as a starter, she has averaged almost 28 minutes per game, scoring 9.3 points on 67.2 percent shooting, while also collecting 6.9 rebounds. During the games she has started, the Fever have outscored opponents by an average of 7.5 points per game in her minutes, which would be the best mark on the team.
Timpson’s presence, however, might be more important than her production.
Although listed at 6-foot-2, she plays bigger than her size, thanks to her elite athleticism and length. Against a Washington frontcourt that not only features Iriafen and Austin, but also Lauren Betts, Timpson can provide the physical punch needed to prevent the Mystics from bullying their way to the win.
Why Georgia Amoore’s shooting is so important
As noted above, Amoore, unlike Timpson, already has made an impact on this matchup, and that shooting she displayed is why she could be the X factor on Sunday.
It’s been an uneven essentially rookie season for Amoore, as she has yet to establish the efficient shooting required to offset her size-based limitations. For the season, she’s taking 4.4 3s per game and converting 33.5 percent of them.
Encouragingly, her 3-point volume and efficiency has perked up of late. On Thursday, she was 4-for-7 from deep in a domination of the Sky. Before the FIBA break, she enjoyed a career-best night against the Phoenix Mercury, with a 6-for-11 performance from 3 carrying her to a career-high 25 points.
Because the Mystics are an improving-but-still-subpar shooting team, Amoore emerging as real behind-the-arc threat acquires even more importance.
If Amoore, at minimum, attracts more attention when she is stationed behind the 3-point line, that can open up the floor for the rest of the Mystics to attack the basket for finishes or fouls; the league’s most successful foul drawing team, extra trips to the line could prove to be an edge on Sunday afternoon.
