Game 1: Fever 88, Mystics 79

It seems as though all of the Mystics' games against the Fever this season have come down to a fourth-quarter battle of wills. And for the fifth time in 2009, Washington was unable to overcome Indiana, falling 88-79, in the opener of the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series. The Fever has outscored Washington 134-91 in the fourth quarter in the five games between the two teams this year.

The Mystics now face the daunting task of two must-win games at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis if they hope to remain in the playoffs.

"This isn't the only game we've done this," Lindsey Harding said of the fourth quarter errors. "This is deja vu all over again. We just have to be able to be physically and mentally strong to fight in the fourth quarter. It's almost as if they're playing hard but then they turn it on to another level. We have the capability to do that, we just need to learn and do it."

Sure, the Mystics never quite put this one out of the Fever's reach -- allowing Katie Douglas and Tamika Catchings to single-handedly keep Indiana in the game in the second quarter -- but they played a solid game through three quarters. But as the second half continued, the far-too-familiar signs of a breakdown emerged again.

Two minutes into the fourth quarter you would have never known that the Mystics had held a 58-56 edge at the end of the third. With baskets by four different players -- Catchings, Douglas, Christina Wirth and Briann January -- the Fever went on an 11-0 run and seized control of the game with a 67-58 lead.

"Just mental lapses. Their points were off our turnovers, our mistakes and that's how they got their run," Crystal Langhorne said. "We're making little mental mistakes and we've got to cut back on those things. That's what really got us."

Said Plank: "We have to find the way to finish the game. Our fourth quarter the last two games have not been good. Our defense was there for three quarters but it was not there in the fourth. We have to find a way to fix that."

*Granted there were some things the Mystics couldn't control. Like Fever Coach Lin Dunn's decision to have Catchings guard Langhorne in the second half after the 2009 most improved player of the year recorded 13 points in the first half.

"We tried [Tammy] Sutton-Brown on Langhorne and then tried Catchings on her because she was certainly causing us some problems," Dunn said. "She was really awesome in the first half we were really focusing on how to limit her touches."

*Catchings said another focus of Indiana's defense was to prevent Harding from driving to the basket or setting up a shot in the middle of the floor.

*Speaking of Catchings, the Fever's league MVP candidate, she continued her excellent play against Washington. Her 26 points was her second best outing of the season, two behind her high of 28, which came against the Mystics back on July 21.

"It seems like against the Mystics she is awesome. I love that," Dunn said. "She is a competitor. She is a winner and when it comes playoff time I don't know anybody that thrives on that atmosphere more than she does."

When asked what the Mystics need to pull off two wins in Indiana, Plank responded only partially in jest: "We need a little bit less of Catchings. We need her to get the flu or something."

By Katie Carrera  |  September 17, 2009; 10:26 PM ET
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