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Dream-Mystics Preview

Sep 12, 2009 - 2:55 AM By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN STATS Senior Writer

Atlanta (17-15) at Washington (15-17), 7:00 p.m. EDT

The Washington Mystics face a number of playoff scenarios, but this much is true: They must defeat the Atlanta Dream on Saturday night.

The Mystics look to take a step towards gaining one of the final two Eastern Conference playoff berths when they host the playoff-bound Dream.

Washington (15-17) trails Chicago by one-half game for fourth place in the East with two games left. Third-place Detroit, which is 1 1/2 games ahead of the Mystics, has yet to clinch and visits the Sky on Saturday in its finale.

The Mystics will be eliminated with a loss Saturday. Washington, though, can clinch its first playoff berth in three years with a win and a loss by the Sky.

If the Mystics and Sky both win, Washington would have to win in its regular-season finale at New York on Sunday to reach the postseason.

Washington has had plenty of time to get ready for this closing stretch after a 72-61 defeat at Indiana on Sunday. The Mystics made 4 of 26 shots in the fourth quarter in their fourth loss in six games.

"We just weren't following," Mystics coach Julie Plank said. "We had 11 offensive boards and scored five second-chance points. We finish, we win the game."

Atlanta (18-15) continued its remarkable season by clinching the second seed in the East with an 88-64 win over Connecticut on Friday. The Dream won four games last year as an expansion team before making rebuilding their roster.

"We've made some changes since we selected the team at the very beginning, but I think we had to make those changes to get better," Atlanta coach Marynell Meadors said. "The players we have brought in have definitely helped us."

Rookie Angel McCoughtry finished with 18 points and Erika DeSouza had 15 points and 15 rebounds as the Dream won for the fourth time in five games.

"I know what they went through last year and it was a struggle," McCoughtry said. "But we're moving on to bigger things."

Atlanta is 2-0 against Washington this year, winning twice at home. Sancho Lyttle averaged 18.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in those victories for the Dream while Chamique Holdsclaw chipped in with 15.0 points per game.

Holdsclaw, though, will miss her ninth straight game due to knee surgery. Saturday would have marked her return to Washington, where she became a fan favorite in her first six WNBA seasons before joining Los Angeles in 2005.