Brittney Sykes’ 20 points led Washington over the Atlanta Dream 72-69 on Friday in College Park, Ga., moving the Mystics into a playoff position.
The Mystics (13-24) moved into a tie for the eighth and final WNBA playoff position with the Chicago Sky (13-24), who lost 83-66 to the Minnesota Lynx on Friday. Washington holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Atlanta (12-25) is one game back, with each team having three games remaining. The Mystics will oppose the Dream again on Sunday, this time in Washington.
Stefanie Dolson added 13 points and eight rebounds for Washington, while Ariel Atkins scored 10 points and Sika Kone contributed nine points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Atlanta’s Allisha Gray registered 17 points and a season-high 10 rebounds. Tina Charles added 13 points but shot 4-for-16, missing multiple layup attempts. Rhyne Howard scored 11 points, and Naz Hillmon put up 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Washington fought off a late run by Atlanta after going up seven points early in the fourth quarter. The Dream went ahead late with strong play from Hillmon in the paint and getting trips to the free-throw line.
Two foul shots from Atkins put Washington up 68-67 with 1:43 to go, and the Mystics never trailed again.
Down by three on the final possession, Atlanta couldn’t find an open shot, with Charles missing a potential game-tying 3-point attempt.
The Mystics benefited from the poor shooting night for Atlanta, which made just 28.8 percent from the floor. The Dream shot 1-for-19 in the second quarter and were outscored 20-10 to trail 34-30 at halftime.
With 2:39 remaining in the second quarter, Washington rookie Aaliyah Edwards sustained an ankle injury that took her out for the rest of the game.
Despite the poor shooting, the Dream stayed in the game with rebounding. Atlanta outrebounded Washington 17-8 on offensive boards and 41-33 overall. The problem for the Dream was when given second chance points off offensive rebounds, Atlanta couldn’t put away the extra shots in the paint.
Atlanta went on a 13-2 run in the second half to pull into a tie at 47-47, but the Dream cooled down again heading into the fourth quarter.
–Field Level Media