The Indiana Fever and Washington Mystics both had problems with fouls in their respective losses Saturday.
Whichever team does a better job in that department Monday night should have a better chance of winning as the Fever and Mystics square off in Washington.
The Fever (5-5) shot just 15 free throws (making nine) while the Liberty shot 33 for 40 in Indiana’s 83-75 road loss.
“We fouled,” guard Caitlin Clark said of the Fever getting outscored 29-18 in the fourth quarter, during which the Liberty made 21 of 23 free throws and the Fever made 1 of 2. “We had some bail-out fouls and then you’re putting them on the free-throw line, the clock is stopped and they’re getting free points. That’s really hard to combat.”
New York’s Breanna Stewart finished with 30 points after making 18 of 21 free throws, including 13 of 15 in the fourth quarter.
“We guarded (Stewart) pretty well and we guarded them pretty well from the 3-point line (2 of 18),” Clark said, “but when you give somebody 21 free throws it makes things really difficult.”
Clark finished with just 10 points (8.7 below her average) as she was hampered by foul trouble, which has been common of late. She committed five fouls for the third time in five games.
The Mystics (4-5) had their most lopsided defeat of the season Saturday — 109-77 at Atlanta. It was the most points allowed by Washington this season.
Head coach Sydney Johnson was ejected after he was called for two technical fouls with 3:52 left in the third quarter of a game in which the Dream shot a season-high 41 free throws and Washington shot 27.
After the game, Johnson admitted to losing “my cool” and added “the officials did what was appropriate.”
The Mystics, one of the youngest teams in the WNBA, are used to games featuring a lot of trips to the foul line. They lead the league in free-throw attempts (27.1) and allow the most free-throw attempts to opponents (26.3)
“I’ve been really, really pleased with our growth from day to day because it’s about player development,” Johnson said. “That’s who we are.”
Guard Sonia Citron, who missed the previous game with a left foot sprain, started and scored 18 points with six assists vs. the Dream. She leads the team with 17.8 points per game.
The visiting Mystics defeated the host Fever 104-102 in overtime on May 15. Both teams are 1-1 in the Commissioner’s Cup.
–Field Level Media
