End of the run

In the end, they didn't have enough.

The Minnesota Lynx are loaded -- as the Washington Post called it, they are a super team (and maybe more than that).  And the Washington Mystics aren't.  You need at least three great players, it seems, to have a chance to win a basketball championship, and this year, after Tayler Hill got injured and went out for the season, the Mystics were down to two (Elena Delle Donne and Kristi Toliver), plus a strong supporting role from Emma Meesseman.

Not enough against the Lynx. So even though they made the semi-finals, they were outmatched, and were swept.

But it was enough to give us a little hope, especially those two wins in the one-and-done rounds.

They just need a little more.

On their way up, the Mystics just saw what a genuine super team looks like

Just to put it in context:

"And then they played a team [the Lynx] that had two former league MVPs, four all-stars and an experienced core that has recorded 37 playoff wins since 2011. The Mystics have four. Maybe that sweep wasn’t a super shock."

Final thought:  I think both men's and women's professional basketball has a bit of a problem if at the beginning of the season there's hardly any drama about who'll be in the championship round at the end of the season.  And given super teams like the Golden State Warriors, the Lynx, the Cleveland Cavaliers with LeBron and the Miami Heat with LeBron before that, the expectation is that they are so good that it would take something significant to stop them from getting that far.  Dynasties are OK, but hey, give the rest of the country at least a chance to dream about getting a ring.