The Indiana Fever and Washington Mystics will play their WNBA regular season finale on Thursday.

Brett Gendoes

Sep 19, 2024 12:18 AM EDT

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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark will play the final regular season game of her historic WNBA rookie campaign on Thursday. The Fever will face the Washington Mystics in this regular season finale, and the stakes are much different for both teams.

Having already clinched the sixth seed, Indiana will focus primarily on staying healthy in this final regular season game. The stakes are much higher for the Mystics, as they need a win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The eighth and final WNBA playoff spot will go to one of the Mystics (13-26), Chicago Sky (13-26), or Atlanta Dream (14-25).

Ahead of this crucial game against Indiana, the Mystics announced that rookie forward Aaliyah Edwards has been ruled out due to a right ankle injury she suffered on September 13 against Atlanta.

The injury will end up costing Edwards the final three regular season games of her rookie year.

Washington Mystics forward Aaliyah Edwards (24).

© Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Entering the final game of the WNBA season, Edwards ranks fifth among rookies in scoring, fourth in rebounding and third in blocks. With a strong case for All-Rookie honors, Edwards turned in a solid campaign after being selected sixth overall in the 2024 WNBA draft.

While they play different positions, it would have been fun to see the rookie battle between Clark and Edwards. That said, Washington fans will still get to see Indiana’s star rookie.

Indiana announced a clean injury report after Wednesday’s practice, so they will not be resting any players in this regular season finale. It will be interesting to see if Clark and the starters play their usual load of minutes since Indiana does not have anything to play for.

Washington and Indiana will tip-off at 7:00 PM ET on Thursday.