The Washington Mystics and Chicago Sky are locked in a tight race for two of the Eastern Conference’s final three playoff spots, but they could have something else in common heading into the final stretch.

Both teams might not have an All-Star in their lineups for Friday night’s game in Chicago.

Washington’s Alana Beard and Chicago’s Sylvia Fowles are suffering from sprained left ankles and their statuses are unknown.

Beard, the Mystics’ leading scorer at 16.6 points per game, missed her team’s 78-67 victory over visiting Seattle on Thursday night. Fowles, who has averaged 12.0 points and a team-best 8.6 rebounds, has sat out the past five contests.

Both teams likely have their fingers crossed for a speedy return. Entering Friday’s play, four games separate second-place Atlanta to last-place New York, but the race for the final two spots is even more contentious with 1 1/2 games separating four clubs.

With its latest win, Washington (15-15) moved a half-game in front of Detroit for third place. Chicago (14-16) is only one game back in fifth, with Connecticut in sixth. (Excerpts from Y! Sports)

Chicago is 3-7 ATS in their last 10 head-to-head matches.

POD: Washington vs. Chicago-4.0 (3K units) W