Game Preview: Fever Welcome Mystics for Commissioner’s Cup Matchup
The Indiana Fever will face the Washington Mystics for the second time this season and the first matchup in Indianapolis, on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. ET. In their last meeting, Washington defeated Indiana, 84-70, behind Elena Delle Donne’s 21 points and nine rebounds. For the Fever, Kelsey Mitchell scored 18 points and NaLyssa Smith had 13 points and 13 rebounds in her first career WNBA game.
Since that meeting, the Fever have gone 3-6 and most recently earned its first win under interim head coach Carlos Knox with a 101-96 victory against the Los Angeles Sparks. Mitchell had her sixth game this season with at least 20 points, ending the night with 22. Danielle Robinson recorded her first double-double of the season with a 10-point, 11-assist performance. Both Smith, who returned after missing the previous four games with an ankle injury, and Victoria Vivians added 17 points.
On the other side, Washington sits at 6-3 and is 3-1 on the road this season. The Mystics dropped their first road loss of the season last time out in a 79-71 defeat to the Connecticut Sun. Washington shot a season-low 40 percent from the field and was outrebounded 41-19. Ariel Atkins and Kennedy Burke were the leading scorers for the Mystics, tying with 13 points each.
Entering Tuesday, Indiana owns the all-time record against Washington 42-38, but has lost the last three matchups.
Probable Starters
Indiana Fever (3-7)
F – Victoria Vivians (12.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 27.3 mpg)
F – NaLyssa Smith (13.7 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 30.2 mpg)
C – Queen Egbo (7.2 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 24.0 mpg)
G – Kelsey Mitchell (19.0 ppg, 3.9 apg, 32.9 mpg)
G – Danielle Robinson (9.0 ppg, 4.4 apg, 27.4 mpg)
Washington Mystics (6-3)
F – Elena Delle Donne (17.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 29.3 mpg)
F/C – Shakira Austin (9.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 21.0 mpg)
G- Kennedy Burke (9.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 19.0 mpg)
G – Ariel Atkins (15.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 30.3 mpg)
G – Natasha Cloud (10.7 ppg, 6.7 apg, 30.6 mpg)
Injury Report
Fever: Bria Hartley – questionable (left hamstring)
Mystics: TBD
Broadcast Information
Livestream: Indiana Fever Facebook Page, ESPN3
Pat Boylan (play-by-play), Bria Goss (analyst)
Extra Notes
The Fever and Mystics have five top-10 draft picks between them from the 2022 WNBA Draft:
- NaLyssa Smith (IND; 2nd overall)
- Shakira Austin (WAS; 3rd overall)
- Emily Engstler (IND; 4th overall)
- Lexie Hull (IND; 6th overall)
- Queen Egbo (IND; 10th overall)
NaLyssa Smith has recorded 10+ points in four games this season. She joins Shakira Austin (WAS), Rhyne Howard (ATL), and Rebekah Gardner (CHI) as the only rookies to do so in at least four games this season.