Washington Mystics at Chicago Sky
· Women's National Basketball AssociationCharles scores 31 to help Mystics beat Sky 79-71
The Mystics (12-18) — who played without Elena Delle Donne (back), Ariel Atkins (personal reasons) and Myisha Hines-Allen (non-COVID illness) — have a one-game lead, with two games to play, over the Los Angeles Sparks and the New York Liberty for the final playoff spot.
Charles scored 10 points and hit two of Washington's five 3-pointers during a 21-1 run that gave the Mystics the lead for good. Chicago went scoreless over the last four minutes of the first quarter as the Mystics ripped off 15 consecutive points. After a defensive 3-seconds technical foul, Allie Quigley made a free throw to snap a scoring drought of nearly seven minutes but Charles and Leilani Mitchell made back-to-back 3s to cap the spurt and made it 30-15 with 7:08 left in the first half.
Chicago (15-15) needs to win one of its final two games to secure the No. 6 seed — and a first-round game at home — in the playoffs.
Natasha Cloud had 16 points and eight assists and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough scored 14 points and had a career-high six steals for Washington.
Azurá Stevens led the Sky with a season-high 18 points. Quigley added 15 points and Candace Parker had 12 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
Chicago made just 3 of 22 (13.6%) from 3-point range.
Regular Season Series
WSH wins series 2-1
Recent Plays
| 4th 0.0 |  |
End of Game | 79 - 71 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
End of the 4th Quarter | 79 - 71 |
| 4th 4.9 |  |
Natasha Cloud defensive rebound | 79 - 71 |
| 4th 7.4 |  |
Allie Quigley misses 24-foot three point jumper | 79 - 71 |
| 4th 23.6 | |
Theresa Plaisance out of bounds lost ball turnover | 79 - 71 |
Statistics
 WSH |
 CHI |
|
|---|---|---|
| 29-60 | FG | 28-67 |
| 48 | Field Goal % | 42 |
| 9-27 | 3PT | 3-22 |
| 33 | Three Point % | 14 |
| 12-17 | FT | 12-15 |
| 71 | Free Throw % | 80 |
| 35 | Rebounds | 31 |
| 4 | Offensive Rebounds | 6 |
| 31 | Defensive Rebounds | 25 |
| 19 | Assists | 17 |
| 9 | Steals | 8 |
| 1 | Blocks | 0 |
| 15 | Turnovers | 14 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 16 | Total Turnovers | 15 |
| 1 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 1 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 11 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 11 |
| 10 | Fast Break Points | 7 |
| 34 | Points in Paint | 44 |
| 15 | Fouls | 15 |
| 18 | Largest Lead | 5 |
Game Information
Location: Chicago, IL
Attendance: 4,707 · Capacity:
2025-26 Eastern Conference Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 New York |
- | 4 | W8 | 0.73333335 | 11 |
 Atlanta |
0.5 | 4 | W2 | 0.71428573 | 10 |
 Indiana |
2 | 6 | L1 | 0.6 | 9 |
 Toronto |
4 | 8 | L3 | 0.46666667 | 7 |
 Washington |
4 | 7 | W1 | 0.46153846 | 6 |
 Chicago |
6.5 | 10 | L4 | 0.2857143 | 4 |
 Connecticut |
9.5 | 14 | L6 | 0.125 | 2 |
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Dream relish playoff-like intensity on road, hold off Fever
In an early-season test between two title contenders, the Dream held off a late run by the Fever and won 108-101 Thursday night at Gainbridge Arena.
Reese has 21 points, 11 rebounds, and all Dream starters score 16-plus in 108-101 win over Fever
— Angel Reese had 21 points and 11 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season, Jordin Canada added 18 points, and the Atlanta Dream beat the Indiana Fever 108-101 on Thursday night.