WNBA Playoff Race Heats up as Washington Mystics take eighth

The WNBA playoffs start on September 22nd, giving teams little time to make a move for the eighth spot. No one has managed to clinch it yet, but three teams are circling the position. Last night, the Washington Mystics managed to slip into eighth after a rocky season that saw them fall to last place a few times. As the race continues, they will have to fend off the Atlanta Dream and Chicago Sky to ensure they clinch this spot.

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Washington Mystics defeat Atlanta Dream

The Dream is another team vying for the final playoff position. They were tied in the standings with the Mystics, which made last night's game a crucial one. Washington managed to get the 72-69 win. Brittney Sykes came through in a big way with 20 points to lead her team to victory. Stefanie Dolson was the second-leading scorer with 13 points and had a big night on the boards with eight rebounds.

From here, the team cracked a bit, with only one other player having a double-digit night. Washington isn’t a great team, and if they do clinch, chances are they won’t make it very far. There is no shot of the Mystics seeing the Finals, but being able to come up from the bottom is still impressive.

The Dream had a similar night, with Allisha Gray giving them 17 points and 10 rebounds and Tina Charles having 13. Naz Hillmon did grab 11 boards to go with 10 points, but no one had an incredible night outside of that. The story would be the same if the Dream made the playoffs, as there would be no shot of them finding a way to the Finals. The top teams are just too strong.

Who the Mystics will face if they clinch

If Washington can hold on, they’ll have to battle it out with the first-place New York Liberty. This will be almost an impossible task for them as the Liberty has been a powerhouse. So far, they’ve played each other twice, and New York has won both times 85-80 and 90-79. These two will play one more time on September 17th, giving the first-place team a chance to sweep the series.

New York has been on a hot streak all season, losing just six games and winning 31 of them. They have a good chance of winning the chip this season. Their biggest competition will be the Minnesota Lynx, Connecticut Sun, and Las Vegas Aces. However, maybe this gives the Mystics an upper hand if the Liberty underestimates them and plays down a bit. One can’t completely count the Mystics out, as the first game against the Liberty went down to the wire.

The season leaders

Right now, Ariel Atkins leads in scoring with 14.6 points per game. The guard also leads in steals with 1.5 per game. Next up is forward Aaliyah Edwards, who leads in rebounds with 5.6 per game and blocks with 0.8 per game. Lastly, Julie Vanloo leads in assists with 4.5 per game. However, these three players barely showed up in the team’s last game against the Dream. Atkins only had 10 points, Edwards had three rebounds, and Vanloo had two assists, leaving much to be desired.

Consistency will be extremely important next week. If they can’t ramp things up, there is no shot of them holding on to eighth. The Dream and Sky aren’t playing the best basketball right now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have a burst, especially with the playoffs on the line. It’ll be interesting to see how things shake up as the last week of the regular season begins.

Article originally written by Elizabeth Della Piana