The Washington Mystics fell to the Minnesota Lynx 88-83 in the season finale for both teams, however, the Mystics still had a lot to celebrate. They finished with a record of 22-12, clinching the No. 3 seed in the WNBA Playoffs and a first-round bye. The 22 wins tie a franchise record (2010). Washington won eight straight games before Sunday’s loss.
Washington entered the final day of the regular season tied with the Atlanta Dream for second in the WNBA. The Mystics needed a win and a Dream loss to slide up to the No. 2 seed, however, the Dream downed the Las Vegas Aces 93-78 on the road, clinching the double-bye. With the outcome no longer a matter, head coach Mike Thibault opted to rest the starters in the second half.
The Mystics will now await the first round to see who they will face in the second round of the playoffs. Being the No. 3 seed, the Mystics will face the lowest-seed remaining after the first round. Here’s how the seed stacked up
- Seattle Storm (26-8)
- Atlanta Dream (23-11)
- Washington Mystics (22-12)
- Connecticut Sun (21-13)
- Phoenix Mercury (20-14)
- Los Angeles Sparks (19-15)
- Minnesota Lynx (18-16)
- Dallas Wings (15-19)
The two first-round matchups are set highlighted by a rematch of the previous two seasons WNBA Finals between Minnesota and Los Angeles, now the 7th and 6th seed, respectively. Dallas will travel to Phoenix in the other first-round matchup on Tuesday.
The #WNBAPlayoffs are SET! Action begins Tuesday as the first round commences! #WatchMeWork pic.twitter.com/Iw2C0V8bqf
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 20, 2018
Washington will host Dallas, Minnesota, or Los Angeles in the second round. Connecticut will await the highest remaining seed after the first round which would be either Phoenix, Los Angeles or Minnesota. The two second-round games are scheduled for Thursday.
The first two rounds are single-elimination games. The conference semifinals and WNBA Finals are best-of-five game series. Atlanta and Seattle will receive byes into the conference semifinals with Seattle playing the lowest remaining seed after the second round and Atlanta getting the highest remaining.
