The Washington Mystics secured their playoff berth on Sunday with a 105-100 victory over the Portland Fire at Moda Center. This marks the team’s first playoff appearance since 2023.
“I’m elated for our entire organization… I think it’s important to say it’s a clear step forward,” said Washington Mystics head coach Sydney Johnson. “We started the season wanting to ascend and really build on year one. And geez, to make the playoffs in year two with the youth of this group is absolutely amazing.”
The Mystics last won a postseason series in 2019, when they also captured their first WNBA championship.
Washington made history with this win, setting a franchise record of 40 points in a single quarter, while also recording its highest-scoring regulation game of the season.
Center Shakira Austin led the way with a career-high of 31 points and 10 rebounds.
“I was just really intentional about understanding that we’re very prepared for what we’re gonna see out there,” Austin said after the thrilling victory. “There were no surprises. Shout out to our coaches for prepping us. So it was just about continuing to make the right reads every possession… Every quarter we got a little more comfortable.”
Forward Kiki Iriafen added 18 points and 10 rebounds for another double-double, demonstrating what Austin lauded as resilience and efficiency that helped the team settle into a flow by the fourth quarter.
Guard Sonia Citron finished the night with 14 points to add to the outstanding victory, while making WNBA history by reaching 85 points in the clutch this season. This marked the most clutch points recorded by a player in a single season in league history.
Portland made it a close game with back-to-back three-pointers from guard Carla Leite, cutting the deficit to three and making it a 103-100 game in the fourth.
Nail-biting moments continued to build between both teams until the final seconds. But it was the Fire who ended up committing the foul coming out of a timeout in the fourth, sending guard Georgia Amoore to the free-throw line. Amoore made both of her free throws, extending Washington’s lead to 105-100.
As the clock ran out, Portland missed their last shot. Coupled with Chicago Sky’s 113-90 loss to the Indiana Fever early Sunday, the Mystics’ playoff-clinching victory was sealed.
“I think we all know we’ve lost it a little on the defensive end, a little on just our togetherness on offense with protecting the ball. But this is when teams gel,” Austin said. “We want to be able to start peaking now, and I think we’ve figured out our identity to win.”
The Washington Mystics will continue their six-game road slate, now turning their attention to the Phoenix Mercury for a Tuesday night matchup on Aug. 25. Tip-off is set for 10 p.m.
“Now it’s just about continuing to put that same formula out,” the Mystics center continued, “every single game.”
