Indiana Fever fall to Washington Mystics in WNBA action

Carlos Knox was relieved he got a few days of practice with the Indiana Fever before they hosted the third-best team in the WNBA — the Washington Mystics. While the Fever gave Knox his first head coaching win on Friday, he had little time to set the tone for his team.

Those rare consecutive days of practice during the season were made apparent by the Fever’s scorching start against the Mystics on Tuesday. Indiana handled Washington’s smothering defense well in the first half, taking an eight-point lead at halftime.

“It set the tone for where we going, where our future is headed,” Fever star Kelsey Mitchell said. “We're going to take couple bumps in the road, but practice is our best thing right now, making sure we get stuff in, making sure we pick certain things up. We got some young ones, so it's hot and cold some days. It's like a sour patch kid, it's bitter, it's sweet sometimes.”

But out of the break, the Mystics intensified the pressure, broke down the Fever’s defense and their leading scorers came alive. Washington’s 24-point third quarter changed the momentum and the Fever were unable to come back, falling 87-75 at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.

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After a quiet start from Elena Delle Donne, the Mystics star player finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. But it was really Ariel Atkins’ explosive second half that buried the Fever. After a seven-point first half, Atkins finished with 28 on 56.3% shooting. Natasha Cloud added 16 points and nine assists for Washington.

“(Delle Donne’s) experienced, so we have rookies that are matched up with her and she understands that from a veteran standpoint, so she can use some of the rookie veteran tricks,” Knox said. “So one of the things that I tried to tell my ladies is when you are guarding her, you just have to be as locked in as possible because she takes advantage of situations when you're not locked in. Overall, she's not as youthful, so she has to use her head a lot and she does an excellent job.”

Mitchell, the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week, continued on her offensive tear with 26 points, making nine of her 14 shot attempts. NaLyssa Smith and Victoria Vivians also scored in double figures, with 13 and 11 points, respectively.

The Fever started the first quarter off perfect from deep with three 3-pointers to open up a 13-2 lead. Smith and Mitchell traded shots with Delle Donne and Cloud before Atkins nailed a 3. The Mystics scored three layups from offensive rebounds and went on a 9-0 run near the end of the quarter. Mitchell made a layup at the buzzer to keep Indiana on top, 23-22.

Delle Donne hit a 3 then made a putback to give Washington the lead before the Fever made a few free throws. Danielle Robinson took the lead back with back-to-back jumpers, then Smith hit a 3 as the Fever took a 35-31 lead.

While Delle Donne continued to work in the paint, Vivians and Mitchell each hit 3s, extending the Fever’s lead to 46-38 at halftime.

The last 20 minutes were dominated by the Mystics. Washington forced Indiana’s offense into several late and off-balance shots while pushing the pace on offense. Mitchell continued to keep the Fever close, but the Mystics’ balanced attack on both ends of the court kept Indiana out of reach.

Mitchell said the team’s Achilles heel right now is the third quarter as they often get outscored coming out of halftime.

“It's mentality. We got accustomed to certain things and we've gotta get out of that rut,” Mitchell said. “We've gotta believe in ourselves and our mentality has to shift going into third quarter. Can't get too high, get too low and at halftime coming into the locker room you got to have a certain focus or a certain shift in our game that makes us want to compete at a high level.”

Knox said Washington’s defensive effort took a big jump after halftime and his team wasn’t able to match the intensity.

The Fever will head on a three-game trip starting Wednesday against the New York Liberty. Indiana’s next home game will be June 10 against the Liberty.

Mystics 87, Fever 75

WASHINGTON (87): Burke 3-7 1-2 8, Delle Donne 8-17 1-2 19, Austin 0-3 0-0 0, Atkins 9-16 6-6 28, Cloud 6-10 3-3 16, Hines-Allen 1-4 0-0 2, Williams 4-7 2-3 10, Machida 0-2 0-0 0, Walker-Kimbrough 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 33-72 13-16 87.

INDIANA (75): Smith 5-13 1-2 13, Vivians 4-14 0-0 11, Egbo 1-7 0-0 2, K.Mitchell 9-14 5-5 26, Robinson 3-4 0-0 6, Engstler 3-6 0-2 6, Coates 0-1 0-0 0, Henderson 4-10 0-0 9, Hull 0-1 0-0 0, T.Mitchell 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 30-74 6-9 75.

Washington 22 16 24 25 — 87

Indiana 23 23 13 16 — 75

3-Point Goals—Washington 8-24 (Atkins 4-6, Delle Donne 2-6, Cloud 1-3, Burke 1-4, Hines-Allen 0-1, Machida 0-1, Walker-Kimbrough 0-3), Indiana 9-22 (K.Mitchell 3-6, Vivians 3-7, Smith 2-4, Henderson 1-3, Engstler 0-2). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Washington 44 (Williams 15), Indiana 32 (Egbo 10). Assists_Washington 24 (Cloud 9), Indiana 20 (K.Mitchell, Vivians 4). Total Fouls_Washington 7, Indiana 16. A_1,009 (6,500)

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana Fever fall to Washington Mystics in WNBA action