The sting of first-round defeat was still fresh during the Washington Mystics exit interviews this week. Still, the early exit isn’t enough to diminish the Mystics’ overall impression of their progress this season.

Atlanta broke open a close game by scoring 26 consecutive points and the Dream beat Julie Plank and the Washington Mystics 101-77 on Friday night to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

The Washington Mystics entered the playoffs with as much confidence as they have had all season, and for good reason. But after losing game one its win or go home tonight.

Angel McCoughtry scored 28 points to lead the Atlanta Dream to an upset of the top-seeded Washington Mystics 95-90 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal Wednesday night.

Being the top seed has not changed the Mystics’ attitude. They are still approaching the playoffs with an underdog mentality, and will undoubtedly be playing with a chip on their shoulder like they have all year.

Washington Post Live's Ivan Carter talks playoffs and plays a little hoops with Crystal Langhorne and Marissa Coleman.

The Washington Mystics captured the No. 1 seed in the WNBA's Eastern Conference Playoffs with a 90-81 win over the Atlanta Dream on Sunday.