INDIANAPOLIS — Candice Dupree became just the ninth player in WNBA history to score 6,000 points, but the night was spoiled for Indiana when Elena Delle Donne’s offense and Washington’s rigid defense led the Mystics to a 76-62 win over the Fever at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Wednesday night.
The Fever entered the fourth quarter with a 60-58 lead before the Washington defense shut down Indiana, holding the Fever to just two points in the fourth quarter. The two-point quarter is tied for lowest scoring quarter in Fever history and tied for second lowest scoring fourth quarter in WNBA history.
“Despite the first five and a half minutes and poor defense start, 76 points to a team that averages 85-86 should be enough,” said Fever head coach Pokey Chatman. “But the offensive futility in the fourth quarter and settling for shots that aren’t our best shots, 3-pointers, did us in.”
Delle Donne put up 25 and amassed seven rebounds to lead the Mystics. Kristi Tolliver scored 19 and added seven rebounds, while Monique Currie added 14 points and five rebounds.
Natalie Achonwa led the Fever with 15 points and six rebounds. Victoria Vivians contributed 12 points and seven rebounds.
Indiana and Washington brought the offense in the first quarter, as the game felt like a track meet early on.
Washington struck first, opening the game on a 12-2 run as Currie drained 3-pointers on back to back possessions with Delle Donne adding a 3-pointer of her own. In total, Washington shot 5-6 from behind the arc in the first period, as well as 12-18 from the field (66.7%).
The Fever began to claw their way back behind Achonwa, as the center scored seven first quarter points including a strong basket and a foul inside and a layup on the following possession.
Indiana trailed by as many as 11 in the first, but a strong end to the quarter was punctuated with a Kelsey Mitchell 3-pointer that found the bottom of the net with just three seconds remaining in the quarter. Indiana trailed 31-25 heading into the second.
Chicago once again took a double-digit lead midway through the quarter, as Currie made yet another 3-pointer to give Washington a 40-30 lead. Vivians went on a tear from there as the rookie scored seven straight points for Indiana beginning with a pull up jumper, then a floater, and finishing with a 3-pointer as the rookie displayed her offensive versatility.
Indiana’s next basket was a significant one, as Dupree made a layup that catapulted her into the history books with over 6,000 points in her career.
“It means a lot,” says Dupree. “I had hoped to accomplish something in my 13-year career, so what better way than to score 6,000 points.”
Washington used 3-pointers by Delle Donne and Toliver to end the second, as the Mystics took a 48-41 lead into the half time break.
Indiana started the third quarter in a big way, as Achonwa’s aggression and six quick points propelled the team to a 10-0 run that gave them their first lead of the game at 49-48.
“[Achonwa] is an emotional leader, an intellectual leader, a vocal leader,” says Chatman. “What I like about it is she’s only 6-foot, 3-inches, on a good day. Her vertical isn’t the greatest, but her mind and knowing where to be is why she’s the third leading offensive rebounder in the league – because of those smarts.”
The Fever defense stifled the Washington offense for much of the quarter, as the Mystics were unable to score a point until Delle Donne made a floater nearly six minutes into the second half.
Indiana won the third 19-10 and headed into the fourth with a 60-58 lead.
“I feel like we picked up our defensive intensity,” said Vivians. “We were getting stops and scoring at the same time, so that lead to us having the lead and playing well offensively and defensively.”
The Fever had a difficult time scoring to begin the final frame, as an Erica Wheeler finger roll was the only bucket Indiana mustered in the fourth. The Mystics regained the lead during that stretch, as a Delle Donne 3-pointer put Washington back in front, 65-62, a lead they did not relinquish over the final minutes.
“I think we got away from what was working before,” says Achonwa of the fourth quarter struggles on offense. “Get it inside out, take advantage of their switches. I think we got a little stagnant.”
The Fever return to Bankers Life Fieldhouse for their final home game of the season in a match up with Chicago on Saturday.
Highlights
Postgame