Indiana Fever rout Washington Mystics 87-69; Clinch the best record in WNBA Eastern Conference
Katie Douglas scored a game-high 21 points as the Indiana Fever clinched the top seed in the Eastern Conference with an 87-69 win over the Washington Mystics on Wednesday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The Fever are now just one win short of tying the franchise record for victories in a season with two games remaining in the playoffs. It was third consecutive loss for the Mystics while Indiana has won second straight after losing
three in a row.
Douglas dished out five assist, grabbed four rebounds and stole the ball twice. The All-Star ended the game on 7 for 14 from the field and 5 for 6 from free throw line.
Speaking about her performance, she said “I am just staying aggressive,'' “I am trying to get myself ready for the playoffs and not taking a back seat.''
Tamika Catchings also recorded a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the victory. Tammy Sutton-Brown tallied a season-high 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds, blocked five shots and stole the ball twice while Erin Phillips
ended with 13 points and four rebounds for the Fever.
Crystal Langhorne netted 18 points and grabbed a game best 15 rebounds to lead three Mystics players in double figures. Langhorne was 8 for 14 from the floor in more than 36 minutes. Washington’s Matee Ajavon and Monique Currie
contributed 12 points and four rebounds each in the loss.
The Fever were aggressive on the night, attacking the basket more as compared to the Mystics. They used good ball movement to end the game on 46 percent (29 for 63) from the field and 77.4 percent (24 for 31) from free throw line.
Washington shot only 38.2 percent (26 for 68) from the floor and 68.8 (11 for 16) from the line. The Mystics committed 18 turnovers while Indiana committed only nine.
Catchings scored nine of her points in the first eight minutes of the opening period as Indiana carried a 22-11 lead into the second.
Trailing by ten points after first quarter, the Mystics woke up in the second quarter and trimmed Indiana’s lead to three, 28-31, with 02:38 to go in the quarter. Davenport scored the next three points of the quarter and pushed
Fever lead to 34-28. The Mystics then went on a whopping 9-3 run and went ahead by one, 37-36, at halftime.
Indiana scored the first nine points of the third quarter and went ahead by 45-37. The Fever continued to prove that they are capable of playing solid basketball and pushed their lead to 15 points, 59-44, with 03:47 remaining in
the period. The Mystics then controlled the situation and cut their deficit to six, 64-58, heading into the fourth. Fever outscored the visiting team 23-11 in the fourth quarter and clinched the East’s No. 1 seed.
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