Caitlin Clark, Fever starters play limited minutes in regular season finale
Sika Kone scored a career-high 20 points and the Washington Mystics pulled out a 92-91 win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Thursday night before a record crowd of 20,711, the largest in WNBA history.
The Mystics (14-26), who led by 16 points entering the fourth quarter, began the regular season finale with a shot at the final playoff spot but that hope ended when
Ariel Atkins and Emily Engstler scored 17 points apiece for Washington while Brittney Sykes and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough both contributed 12.
Indiana (20-20) had already locked up the No. 6 seed and pulled its starters midway through the second half. Clark, the record-setting rookie, had eight points, eight assists and five rebounds in 20 minutes while Kelsey Mitchell had four points and was pulled after only five minutes. For Clark, it was her first time being held under double figures in scoring since June 13.
Kristy Wallace led the Fever, who will face No. 3 seed Connecticut in a three-game series beginning Sunday, with 17 points. NaLyssa Smith had 16 points and Aliyah Boston and Katie Lou Samuelson both had 10.
The record attendance was made possible by the game being played at Capital One Arena, which is not the Mystics’ usual home. Washington plays at Entertainment & Sports Arena, which has a capacity of 4,200.
Washington went just 3 of 15 in the fourth quarter, but Indiana, with mostly reserves on the floor, missed three shots in the last minute after Wallace scored to make it 92-91 with 1:13 to play.
Samuelson missed with 7.7 seconds remaining and Grace Berger grabbed the offensive rebound but missed a short jumper at the buzzer.
The Fever jumped out to a 20-2 lead to start the game as Washington missed its first 10 shots. A three-point play from Kone at the 4:29 mark ended that run and Indiana’s lead was down to 24-22 by the time the quarter came to a close.
By halftime, the Mystics were on top 52-45 as they shot 60% from the field in the second quarter.
Washington started the second half with a 12-4 run and extended the advantage to 82-66 through three quarters.
Although the Fever had clinched a playoff spot two weeks earlier, Mitchell played in her 233rd regular-season game before playing in a playoff game, tying Jia Perkins, who did that before getting into a 2011 playoff game.
