Story By: Erin Zollars
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Washington, D.C–
It’s been a rough start to the 2026 for Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever and coming into D.C, they would have to face the upbeat young Mystics teams that have been eager to prove they can win games early on… well tonight, it wasn’t about how this game started for the Mystics, as it was awful, but the way it finished in dramatic fashion.
Clark who for most of the 2025 season was the player that Fever relied heavily on to win games and it hasn’t gone as expected so far, that was until tonight, Clark proved with 1.2 seconds remaining in the game that she can recover from a mistake just seconds before and launch a long three pointer to win it 78-76 to the disbelief of the fans in attendance.
The winning shot was Clark’s second career game-tying or go-ahead field goal inside the final five seconds of a game, the other coming against the Mystics earlier this season. Her 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left forced overtime last month, but Washington went on to win 104-102.
“Sometimes we take great players, and certainly generational talent, for granted,” Indiana coach Stephanie White said. “What she did was incredible for us. She’s going to have many more moments like that. I know she is. And we needed this one tonight.”
Washington came into the game after an absolute blowout loss to Atlanta that saw Mystics Head Coach Sydney Johnson ejected from the game and helped off the court by College Park Police over quite a few calls that he believed had gone against the Mystics the entire game. Tonight the Mystics seemed to open very flat and allowed the Fever to get out early even with Clark struggling for most of the first half.
Falling to 4-6 on the season, Michaela Onyenwere led the Mystics with 17 points on 57 percent shooting from the field while adding a steal.
Rookie Lauren Betts contributed eight points off the bench, and Washington’s reserves stepped up, combining for 23 points in the loss.
The Mystics played a bit of this game in foul trouble and saw Kiki Iriafen go down with an injury, found a way to battle back late in fourth quarter with their bench players. Betts, who has not been a favorite of Johnson so far this season, due to her ability to adapt as quick as some players, still was huge during the late push tonight and if the Mystics are going to succeed later in the season, she will need to see more game action.
Despite the loss tonight, a healthy Mystics team should continue to be watched this season and has the ability to shake up some games if Johnson is able to figure out a good combo with his Bigs and the leadership of Sonia Citron every night. Get those two to click and we will have a winning team in D.C.
