INDIANAPOLIS — Arielle Atkins strode briskly onto the court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse wearing only socks for her pregame media appearance on Wednesday, perhaps because the two-time WNBA All-Star knew she needed to make as much of an impression as possible for game time.
The Washington Mystics turned to Atkins to lead their team to victory as Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever mounted a furious comeback after trailing by 22 points late in the third quarter. Atkins was effective with 26 points in the Mystics’ 89-84 win, but a lot else was needed to hold off the Fever as Clark was performing like never before.
“To be honest with you, sometimes you don’t notice it all,” Mystics coach Eric Thibault said of Atkins’ contributions. “She just saves so many plays. She’s a winner. She makes game-winning plays. She’s a champion. She’s a gold medalist. That’s why everybody in the locker room has so much respect for her.”
Those plays were on display throughout Wednesday’s game, but especially in the fourth quarter. With just under a minute left and the Fever leading 14-0, Atkins collapsed and made a pull-up jump shot from her elbow to put the Mystics up 87-82. Then, after two free throws from Clark put the Mystics within three again, Atkins snuck a jump ball from Fever center Aaliyah Boston and stole it. Atkins collapsed to the floor with the ball with 16.9 seconds left, and Julie VanLu made two free throws to seal the win.
The Mystics (6-17) snapped a two-game losing streak and have two games remaining before next week’s All-Star Game and the Olympic break – at Las Vegas on Sunday and Phoenix on Tuesday. The Mystics are 6-5 since losing a franchise-record 12 straight games to start the season.
“We’re getting to understand each other,” Atkins said. “But I also think that the big problem is [is] … We are actually listening. We can talk, but we are listening.”
Atkins scored 20 or more points for the fifth time this season, falling three points shy of his season-high, and also recorded three rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block.
“Her aggressiveness is great,” Mystics center Stephanie Dolson said, “and overall, she’s been really good about being consistent. Even when she’s not scoring, she’s doing little things. But today in particular, she did a great job of following through on plays, getting the first touch on a loose ball, and then at the end, she protected the ball for us. … And defensively, she was great.”
Washington had its most complete performance of the season after three quarters. The roster remains short on manpower with Brittney Sykes (foot), Shakira Austin (hip) and Carly Samuelson (hand). A string of turnovers gave the Fever (9-14) early leads, leading 26-17 after the first quarter and 51-37 at halftime. Indiana’s 23 turnovers in the game were the second-most by a Mystics opponent this season, and Washington’s 23 points off turnovers were three shy of their season-high.
The Mystics offense was efficient early on, scoring 12 points and recording 11 assists in the first quarter and scoring backcut layups throughout the afternoon.
Dolson finished with 13 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, while VanLu, who frustrated fellow rookie Clark so much that she shoved him with both hands, added 13. Aaliyah Edwards added 12 points and 6 rebounds off the bench, and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough continued her strong play as a reserve with 10 points, including a beautiful alley-oop pass over Clark’s head to Dolson that set up a three-point play.
“When we attack with really good pace and speed, it can get them off balance, especially the guards,” Dolson said, “so anytime they’re cutting, that’s something I’m keeping an eye on.”
Clark finished with 29 points (including five 3-pointers), 13 assists, five rebounds, five steals and three blocks. She became the first player in WNBA history to record 25+ points, 10+ assists, five+ rebounds, five+ steals and five+ 3-pointers. She held the Fever to within one possession in the final minute, but the Mystics began to have problems with ball security, and Indiana was unable to complete a comeback.
The Mystics kept the rest of the Fever players relatively in check. Kelsey Mitchell added 15 points and Nalyssa Smith added 11 off the bench. Dolson and Edwards didn’t spark Boston’s 2023 No. 1 draft pick. She finished with just six points, five turnovers and five fouls.
“We played strong and made them feel like we were strong,” Thibault said. “I thought we were disciplined in covering not only Caitlin but everybody down the line.”
“Everyone was focused and worked on what they were good at.”
