Mystics vs. Liberty preview: Washington heads to New York for Round 2 of the playoffs

The Mystics will face the Liberty in the second round of the WNBA Playoffs.

Game Info

Where and When: Sunday, September 10, 5 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden

TV/Streaming: ESPN2 and WatchESPN

Injuries: The Mystics will miss Tayler Hill while the Liberty is good to go.

Results this year

The Mystics are 1-2 against the Liberty. They won 67-54 on June 29 at home, but lost 85-55 on July 16 and 74-66 on August 25.

Storylines

The Mystics’ start frontcourt of Elena Delle Donne and Emma Meesseman will face off against New York’s frontcourt of Tina Charles and former Mystics center Kia Vaughn. The backcourt will be put to test when Kristi Toliver has to face her predecessor and Bullets Forever fan favorite Bria Hartley, while Tierra Ruffin-Pratt will likely match up against Epiphanny Prince. It’s going to be a “family reunion” once again seeing Hartley and Vaughn on the floor — except that this is an elimination game.

What’s at stake?

The Mystics will have an opportunity to clinch the WNBA semifinals for the first time since 2002, when they made the Eastern Conference Finals. The WNBA Playoffs don’t consider conference records anymore, so the semifinals would be an equivalent to what was the conference finals.

What happens if the Mystics win?

The Mystics are the lowest seed to make the second round. If they win on Sunday, they will play the first seeded Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA semifinals. The semifinals and finals are best of five series.