Kelsey Mitchell scored 23 points as the short-handed Indiana Fever rode their 3-point shooting to an 85-76 victory against the visiting Washington Mystics on Tuesday night.
Lexie Hull added 14 points and Aliyah Boston had 10 for the Fever, who played without injured guards Caitlin Clark, who missed her third consecutive game because of a strained left quad, and Sophie Cunningham, who was sidelined by a leg injury suffered in a loss to Connecticut on Friday.
The Fever (3-4) avenged a six-point road loss to the Mystics last Wednesday by making 11-of-28 3-point attempts. Meanwhile, the Mystics (3-5) went 1-for-10. Indiana made six of its 3-pointers while outscoring Washington 31-21 in the third quarter to take control.
Kiki Iriafen had 20 points and nine rebounds, Brittney Sykes scored 20, Sonia Citron had 13 and Shakira Austin added 10 for the Mystics.
Mitchell, Lexie Hull and Sydney Colson each made a 3-pointer as Indiana began the third quarter with a 13-7 burst to take a 51-41 lead. Another 3-pointer by Hull pushed the lead to 58-45 before Sykes converted a three-point play.
The Fever finished the third quarter on an 11-7 run that left them with a 69-55 lead.
Sykes had eight points as Washington scored the first 12 of the fourth quarter to get within two. Boston’s layup with 5:49 to go stopped the run.
Citron’s layup with 3:42 left pulled the Mystics within one point, but the Fever scored the next six to restore a seven-point advantage with 1:28 to play.
At the outset, Damiris Dantas made two 3-pointers during a 10-0 run that gave Indiana a 17-10 lead. Iriafen’s driving layup and Emily Engstler’s pair of baskets helped Washington close within 19-18 at the end of the first quarter.
The Mystics scored the first four points of the second quarter before Boston’s layup produced the Fever’s first points. That was the first of four consecutive field goals for Boston, which gave the Fever a 27-26 lead.
Washington scored the next six points before DeWanna Bonner and Mitchell each made a 3-pointer during an 11-2 closing run that gave Indiana a 38-34 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
