Shortest player in WNBA coming up big
Mercury are 4-0 with Mitchell as a starter
It took the shortest player in the WNBA to help get the tallest going again.
Since the Phoenix Mercury changed their starting lineup to include 5-5 point guard Leilani Mitchell, they are 4-0 and into the second round of the playoffs, a single-elimination game Sunday at Connecticut. During that stretch, 6-9 center Brittney Griner is averaging 28.2 points on 54.7 percent shooting and looking again like the best player in the league as she did before an injury July 14 took her out for a month.
Mitchell has steadied the offense after a string of turnover-filled games including in a one-point loss at Connecticut on Aug. 4 when Griner was still out. Plus she and Yvonne Turner, also new to starting lineup since Aug. 27, are providing perimeter scoring to keep defenses from laying off others to double Griner or trap Diana Taurasi.
It was Mitchell, on a cross-court pass from Taurasi, who knocked down a corner 3-pointer Wednesday to ice a firstround playoff win over Seattle. She’s average 12.7 points since becoming a starter while turning the ball over just three times.
“We’re being a lot more patient on offense,” Mitchell said. “Maybe it was too much of us trying to play faster earlier in the season. We finally just said with BG (Griner) playing the way she is we really need to slow down and get the ball inside. It’s worked to our advantage.”
Mitchell was a Mercury starter for much of 2015 but gone last season to train for the Rio Olympics with the Australian National team. She was born in the United States but has dual citizenship. Her mother, who died in 2009, was a native of Australia from Thursday Island, home of the indigenous people known as Torres Strait Islanders.
Growing up in Richland, Wash., with five brothers, Mitchell said her home was filled with Aboriginal paintings, kangaroo skins and turtle shells reflecting her mother, Ellie Majid.
“She always wanted us to live over there and go to school, but it just never happened,” Mitchell said. “I was sort of waiting for the right opportunity and it finally came about.”
After college at Idaho and Utah, Mitchell was drafted by the Mercury in 2008 then traded to New York, where she played for six seasons. She first played in the Australian WNBL in 2013-14, leading to a spot with the Opals National team at the 2014 World Championships and then the Olympics.
“People think of her just as a 3-point shooter, but I’ve never thought that,” said Mercury coach Sandy Brondello, who will lead the Opals through the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “She’s a penetrating guard as well and a really good finisher around the rim. 5-5 doesn’t matter as long as you’re crafty and know how to finish. We put her back in the starting lineup for a reason, and she’s showing why.”
Danielle Robinson, obtained in an offseason trade, was the starting point guard for 29 games in the regular season. She played well enough, averaging 6.9 points and 3.4 assists. But Mitchell has a better assist/turnover ratio and unlike Robinson, who has yet to make a single 3-pointer in her seven-year WNBA career, is a dangerous long-range shooter.
“That’s my job when I’m open to shoot it,” Mitchell said. “Whether it goes in or
SUNDAY’S GAME
“5-5 doesn’t matter as long as you’re crafty and know how
not is a different story, but just shoot it with confidence. Every day I make hundreds of shots so when I get into the game I’m comfortable and my teammates are confident in me.”
Brondello still believes Mitchell and Robinson complement each other, just that the current order of starter and reserve is best for team success.
“Nothing against D Rob, she gives us defense, but people are going to over help (others) with her,” Brondello said. “Steph (Talbot) is still a rookie, they’re going to leave her open too. That leaves Diana and Brittney getting all the pressure. So we made these adjustments.”
The 32-year-old Mitchell, who could pass for 25, is “calm under pressure,” Brondello said.
“That’s hard to teach. Lei was good for us in 2015, but she’s even better for us in 2017.”
to finish.”