The Indiana Fever suffered a tough 93–77 loss at home to the Washington Mystics, a defeat largely driven by a bad performance in the first half.
Indiana struggled early as Washington opened the game on a hot shooting run, outscoring the Fever 34–19 in the first quarter. The Fever struggled to find offensive rhythm, going cold from perimeter range and getting out-rebounded inside. The Fever shot 21% from the 3-point line and 37% from the field. With the Mystics extending their lead to as many as 26 points, Indiana headed into halftime down 51–30. Despite a second-half push led by Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, the early deficit proved too steep to overcome.
Full game highlights;
This loss carries major playoff implications for the Fever (27–15). The Mystics (26–16) pulled within just one game of Indiana for the No. 5 seed, while the Fever lost crucial ground in their push for top-four playoff hosting privileges. With only two regular-season games remaining, Indiana faces a challenging final stretch against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx to protect their postseason positioning.
