The Washington Mystics reached the WNBA All-Star break comfortably above .500, but the biggest challenge awaiting them in the second half is their injury situation.
The Mystics (11-8) will return to the court Wednesday morning missing three or more key players when they host the Indiana Fever.
Star forward Elena Delle Donne aggravated an ankle injury earlier this month and had to miss Saturday’s All-Star Game. Veteran Kristi Toliver (foot) will be out, as will fellow guard Ariel Atkins, who sustained a left ankle sprain in the Mystics’ 93-86 win over the Seattle Storm on July 11 and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Washington was set to re-evaluate starting center Shakira Austin (hip), who’s been out since June 25. Her status for Wednesday’s game was not yet certain.
Those four players have combined for 46.5 points, 17.8 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game this season.
Washington will rely on guard Brittney Sykes (13.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg) and veteran forward Tianna Hawkins (7.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg). Coach Eric Thibault has heaped high praise on Hawkins for how she has stepped up.
“In our offense, outside of our guards, she’s the one making it work,” Thibault said this month, per Winsidr. “She gets us, we get broken down, she pops back, and she goes and plays the next action with our guard. She has a really good feel about when to pop, when to roll.”
The Fever (5-15) seemed to be improving upon recent seasons when they started 5-7, but then they entered the break on an eight-game slide. They took the New York Liberty to overtime last Wednesday, with star rookie Aliyah Boston posting 23 points and nine rebounds, but New York pulled away 95-87.
The Fever open the second half with a four-game road trip. After visiting Washington, they’ll play at New York followed by two games at the Los Angeles Sparks.
Kelsey Mitchell, who’s been with the Fever since 2018, said putting together two complete halves of basketball is the biggest improvement needed for the second half.
“If we could just piece together runs over the course of those games, we’ve got a chance to really do something special,” Mitchell said.
Indiana has three players averaging more than 15 points per game: Mitchell (16.7), NaLyssa Smith (15.6) and Boston (15.4). But Smith suffered a stress fracture in her left foot earlier this month and has been out since.
The Mystics and Fever have split their first two meetings of the season, each team winning at home.
–Field Level Media
