INDIANAPOLIS — The shot was routine. The smile, rare.
Kelsey Mitchell stole Jonquel Jones’ entry pass into the paint and swiftly weaved past the New York Liberty center. The ball switched from Mitchell’s right to left hand as Jones reached in for a steal on the Gainbridge Fieldhouse logo diagonal to New York’s bench.
The Indiana Fever guard bounces the ball back into her dominant left hand as she crosses half-court. Two defenders are adjacent and one in front as the 5-foot-8 Mitchell blazes toward the left wing.
All eyes are on Mitchell. Her eyes are on the net.
She finds her spot, shoots a 29-foot running pull-up 3 with 3:55 left in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game and falls to the ground after Liberty forward Breanna Stewart made contact on an attempted block.
Mitchell landed at Caitlin Clark’s feet, who bent over and hit the veteran guard on the back in jubilation. Myisha Hines-Allen added more wear and tear on the 30-year-old, grabbing Mitchell’s shoulders and gently pushing her to the ground before delivering an onslaught of fake punches. Mitchell’s beam lasted roughly nine seconds until she raised from the floor.
The shot, routine. The smile, rare.
Mitchell led all scorers with 33 points on 10-of-14 shooting in the Fever’s 108-88 win against the Liberty on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It was Mitchell’s second consecutive 30-point game and fourth overall this season, which ties the franchise record for such games in a single season.
“Kelsey’s insane. She gets shots like that, and she gets up and she’s like calm, cool, collected,” Fever forward Aliyah Boston said. “As her teammates, we want to show her she’s the greatest. And so we celebrate her in those moments. She goes and knocks down her free throws and we keep it going.”
Mitchell likes the term “quiet dominance.” She devours her defender like when she broke Liberty guard Pauline Astier’s ankles in the first quarter. Then, calmly, she walks away with her opponent’s soul in hand.
She doesn’t talk trash. “She’s just a ball player,” as coach Stephanie White said. And so seldom does her opponent pick a fight. If they do, shame is the cause.
“I’m not even a talker. It’s about the game,” Mitchell said. “(If) we ain’t talking about anything that got to do with basketball, then we ain’t talking at all. That’s just my mentality. I don’t have time to be talking to nobody.
“It’s about me finding the stuff that matters and makes sense. I’m more of a controllable person. I control what I can control and my game and my work, and being able to have a relationship with my teammates and have dynamic chemistry with (Caitlin Clark) and (Aliyah Boston) is important. … That’s all I’m gonna say. It’s better for me just to be quiet and go on about my business.”
Mitchell’s hottest stretch came in the third quarter, when she scored 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting. Mitchell had 27 entering the fourth. Her third-quarter performance gave Mitchell her 10th consecutive 20-plus scoring game, the fourth most in WNBA history and the longest active streak in the league.
Her historic numbers stack as the days do the same.
History is now becoming routine.
Maybe the smile will, too.
Joshua Heron is an enterprise and Fever reporter. Follow him on Twitter at @HeronReports. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: A rare smile and a ruthless 3: Kelsey Mitchell leads Fever with electric 30‑point night
Reporting by Joshua Heron, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Joshua Heron, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
