Shakira Austin scored a career-high 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Washington Mystics clinched a WNBA playoff berth with a 105-100 victory against the host Portland Fire on Sunday.
Kiki Iriafen added 18 points and 10 boards, Sonia Citron had 14 points and six assists and Cotie McMahon and Georgia Amoore each scored 13 for the Mystics (22-15), who rallied from double-digit deficits in each of the first three quarters.
Carla Leite led the Fire (15-22) with 27 points and 11 assists. Emily Engstler added 23 points, making 5 of 7 3-point attempts, and a team-high six rebounds. Megan DiLeo scored 21 and Bridget Carleton added 18 points.
The Mystics, who trailed 70-65 entering the fourth quarter, tied it at 76-all on Michaela Onyenwere’s 3-pointer with 7:28 remaining.
Iriafen made a pair of tiebreaking layups and Amoore added a 3-pointer with 5:24 left to give Washington an 85-80 advantage.
Amoore made another trey with 3:41 to go to extend the lead to 92-85. But she was called for a flagrant-1 foul on Leite with 3:25 left. Leite made three free throws and a driving layup on the subsequent possession to get Portland within two.
Washington scored the next eight points to pull away.
The Mystics shot 54.1% from the field (33 of 61), including 7 of 14 from 3-point range. The Fire finished at 48.6% shooting (36 of 74) and 13 of 28 from distance. Washington made 32 of 44 free throws, with Portland hitting 15 of 15 at the line. The Mystics also held a 38-25 rebounding advantage.
Engstler scored eight points, making a pair of 3-pointers, as Portland took an early 10-0 lead. The Fire led 23-18 after the first quarter as DiLeo made a 3-pointer and two free throws in the final 32 seconds to break a tie.
The Fire again pushed their lead to double digits in the second quarter before settling for a 49-47 advantage at the intermission.
Engstler’s 3-pointer with 7:52 left in the second put Portland up 34-22. The Mystics rallied, taking a 40-39 lead on Citron’s three-point play with 3:14 to go.
DiLeo made a layup and a 3-pointer that put the Fire back ahead, and Carleton added a trey and a turnaround jumper for a 49-44 lead.
Austin, who scored 13 points in the second, converted a three-point play with 34 seconds left to cap the first-half scoring.
Portland extended its two-point halftime lead to 66-52 on Carleton’s pull-up, steal and second jumper at the 3:50 mark. McMahon made three free throws in the final 44 seconds of the quarter to trim the Fire’s lead to five entering the fourth.
–Field Level Media
