INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Katie Douglas scored 21 points to help the Indiana Fever beat the Washington Mystics 87-69 on Wednesday night and clinch the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Tamika Catchings had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Tammy Sutton-Brown added a season-high 15 points for the Fever (21-11).
Connecticut can match Indiana's record, but the Fever have the tiebreaker because of a 3-2 advantage in the head-to-head matchup this season.
"You have to give Washington credit. They aren't playing for any kind of playoffs. They're just playing for pride to get better and to rebuild. They came in and gave us a hard fought battle. So I'm impressed with the way they played so hard and fought us every possession, every second. I'm happy to be part of this team. I think it was a good test for us. We don't want to be gifted things. I think it's a lot nicer when you fight for them. So give us credit that we had poise and composure and the character to be able to grind it out and get this win," said Douglas.
The last time Indiana had the top record in the East, the Fever reached the 2009 WNBA finals. Indiana is one win short of tying the franchise record for victories in a season with two games
remaining.
Crystal Langhorne had 18 points and 15 rebounds for Washington (6-27), which has lost 12 of 13.
"Very proud of our players tonight. We looked good early then we started turning the ball over. In the second half we turned the game around. Shyra (Ely) came off the bench and gave us some big points. I thought we played very hard in the second half. We're hoping that Erin (Phillips) will be okay. If Erin is out, Catch (Tamika Catchings), Douglas (Katie) and Bobbitt (Shannon) will share point guard duties. Just because we clinched first place, doesn't mean we don't want to win our final two games," said Fever Head Coach Lin Dunn.
"Both of these teams are teams that we could possibly face in the first round of the playoffs. Not games that we can necessarily take lightly, whether it's New York or Atlanta. New York I think we beat twice in the regular season, but Atlanta we're still 0-3 against them. Both are strong teams and playing extremely well. How close it is in the East is a test of how good every team is right now," said Tammy Sutton-Brown, Fever.
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