{"id":99452,"date":"2025-08-21T13:54:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-21T13:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/99452\/"},"modified":"2025-08-21T13:54:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T13:54:10","slug":"as-indiana-fever-grapple-with-injuries-kelsey-mitchell-remains-their-go-to-player-andscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/99452\/","title":{"rendered":"As Indiana Fever grapple with injuries, Kelsey Mitchell remains their go-to player \u2014 Andscape"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Indiana Fever looked buried last Sunday against the Connecticut Sun, and defeat seemed inevitable. Down by 21 in the third quarter<\/a>, losers of four of their last five<\/a> games and reeling from yet another injury to one of their guards<\/a>, they watched as one of the WNBA\u2019s most prolific scorers struggled to get going.<\/p>\n

Then, like so many times before, Kelsey Mitchell<\/a> happened.<\/p>\n

Limited to just four<\/a> points in the first half, Mitchell erupted for 24<\/a> in the second half, forcing overtime, and then outscored the Sun by herself with 10<\/a> points in the extra frame. Her career-high-tying<\/a> 38 points carried Indiana to a six-point overtime victory, the largest comeback in franchise history<\/a>. It was also the second-highest-scoring<\/a> performance by any WNBA player this year. On Tuesday, she was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cKelsey\u2019s just so efficient in finding her groove,\u201d first-year Fever coach Stephanie White said. \u201cOur scoring perspective and shot distribution is not what it has been with these injuries, but we\u2019ve continued to put the ball in her hands in a lot of tough situations, and she elevates.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The second overall pick in the WNBA\u2019s 2018 draft<\/a>, Mitchell has been the Fever\u2019s constant through eight turbulent seasons marked by coaching changes, losing records and only one playoff trip<\/a> \u2014 a first-round exit<\/a> to Connecticut last year.<\/p>\n

Fever\u2019s Kelsey Mitchell knows to trust her process, whether it\u2019s graduate school or basketballRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

In this challenging season, Indiana has depended more than ever on Mitchell, a three-time All-Star<\/a>. Fellow All-Star guard Caitlin Clark has been sidelined since July 15<\/a> with a groin injury, while backup point guards Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald are both out for the year<\/a> with injuries. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve leaned on [Mitchell] heavily, and she has continued to step up and be exactly what we need,\u201d White said. \u201cShe\u2019s embraced the situation, she\u2019s led by example, and she\u2019s been able to carry the load for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last Sunday\u2019s game against the Sun added another blow when guard Sophie Cunningham went down with a knee injury. On Tuesday, the Fever announced she will miss the rest of the season<\/a>. Still, Mitchell\u2019s eruption has kept the Fever\u2019s playoff push alive, and the almost-seasonlong adversity has provided a boost. Currently, her career-high<\/a> 20.4 points per game ranks fourth<\/a> best in the league, and her 88 3-pointers made ranks No. 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur group is so resilient from a standpoint of we\u2019ve been through things on every level, internally, externally, and behind closed doors,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cWe like to think that if things don\u2019t go our way, we have to compete and play like somebody has to take it from us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The injuries to the starting and backup point guards mean Mitchell, at times, has been the lead guard and scoring guard. Mitchell hadn\u2019t played point guard since her time at Ohio State until earlier this month<\/a> against the Chicago Sky, when she finished with a team-high 26 points<\/a> and eight assists. <\/p>\n

The assists are nice, but it\u2019s no secret that Mitchell\u2019s strength is her scoring. She is the fourth<\/a> all-time leading scorer in women\u2019s college basketball.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI am who I am,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cI\u2019ve always been a downhill scorer, a downhill driver. I do my best to create plays and be aggressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

That aggression doesn\u2019t come easily. Opponents throw waves of schemes at her, forcing outside shots, swarming with double-teams or sending three defenders to strip the ball. Still, she finds ways to produce. She hit 7 of 10 from 3-point range against Chicago on July 27<\/a>. Against the Los Angeles Sparks earlier this month, she buried 7 of 12<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And when Mitchell, at 5-foot-8<\/a>, gets in the open court? Watch out.<\/p>\n

Indiana Fever legend Tamika Catchings welcomes All-Star Game to her city at lastRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s a threat off the dribble,\u201d said Sparks forward Emma Cannon<\/a>, who played with Mitchell for Indiana in 2021<\/a>. \u201cThere\u2019s so many things that she can do that a lot of players can\u2019t stop, and that\u2019s what makes her Kelsey Mitchell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitchell\u2019s speed with the ball is among the league\u2019s best, and her herky-jerky ballhandling and first step are legendary.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne time, she made a girl fall to her knees and I yelled out, \u2018You calling people to the altar to pray,\u2019\u201d Cannon said, laughing. \u201cBeing shifty is something the fans love because they get to ooh and ahh.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because of the opposition\u2019s defensive focus on Mitchell, many of her shots are duly earned. She\u2019s either getting by a defender and shooting over outstretched hands in the paint, or she\u2019s able to get her shot off after getting bumped.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter how difficult the shot, you expect it to go in,\u201d White said. \u201cShe puts up incredible numbers against all kinds of defenses and against tough defenders night in and night out. Kelsey has at least one tough finish around the rim in every game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite all the earned praise for her scoring, Mitchell\u2019s presence has always been about more than just putting the ball through the basket. Her leadership has been critical in steadying the Fever and guiding younger teammates such as second-year guard Clark and center Aliyah Boston<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Aliyah Boston and the beginnings of the WNBA\u2019s next (All-) StarRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

Mitchell describes her style as more display than chatter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m an action type of person,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cI\u2019m able to communicate certain things to the team, but action is always better if I can show you.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, action hasn\u2019t always translated to attention. For most of her career, Mitchell has been one of the league\u2019s most consistent scorers with little of the marketing push or spotlight that\u2019s now attached to newer stars. As a rookie in 2018, a player could average nearly 20 points per game and still be largely invisible outside of box scores.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The landscape looks very different now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Clark signed a record-breaking<\/a> Nike deal before playing a single professional game. Boston has landed national ads and endorsements with brands such as Adidas<\/a> and Kroger, and Fever games are setting viewership records and selling out arenas across the country. Meanwhile, Mitchell has carried the franchise through losing seasons and instability, yet she\u2019s never benefited from the same kind of corporate backing or media spotlight.<\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s changing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy that she\u2019s finally getting the recognition that she deserves because she is a dawg, and she\u2019s one of our greatest players in the league right now,\u201d Cannon said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s proof of how much the WNBA\u2019s visibility has grown in recent years \u2014 and also a reminder of how long Mitchell has flown under the radar.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I\u2019m on the team with Caitlin Clark, there\u2019s a bit more marketability,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cShout out to that group and draft class that includes Angel Reese, who did a good job of marketing themselves. But for me, no one\u2019s really knocked on my door for [marketing] anyway. I\u2019m more concerned about my legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Mitchell, that means representing her family name, pursuing her third academic degree and preparing for the future. Mitchell, who earned an undergraduate degree at Ohio State and a master\u2019s at the University of Cincinnati<\/a>, is taking online courses to obtain her Ph.D. in sports leadership at Liberty University. <\/p>\n

\u201cLosing my dad in 2024 was big because he was the one person that believed in me,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cA part of my heart was broken when I lost my dad because we used basketball to fuel us. He was a coach and he taught me what I know, so it\u2019s only right that I keep my mind focused on that, and hopefully when the ball stops bouncing I can fall back on my education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Branson Wright is a filmmaker and freelance multimedia sports reporter. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Indiana Fever looked buried last Sunday against the Connecticut Sun, and defeat seemed inevitable. Down by 21…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":99453,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-99452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}