INDIANAPOLIS — Kelsey Mitchell looked to have caught her hand on Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young as she came off Aliyah Boston‘s screen. Regardless of the contact, the Indiana Fever guard curled around the top of the arc and found some open floor on the wing. From there, she launched a 3-pointer that would have given the Fever a four-point lead two minutes into the third quarter.
But her shot was well off the mark, sailing harmlessly out of bounds for her 10th miss of the night.
As the whistle blew, Mitchell looked down and started shaking her hand. In the moment, it seemed like she was in discomfort, especially with how she held her arm at the start of the defensive possession.
But Mitchell offered a different explanation when asked about the sequence and her reaction following the Fever’s 84-72 loss in Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals.
“No, (I was) just missing,” she said, letting out a half-hearted chuckle before continuing. “I mean, I think at that time somebody hit my hand, but nah, man. Just a bad day.”
“Bad day” is an apt summation, both of Mitchell’s performance and that of the Fever as a team.
The Fever struggled to find and maintain traction offensively, shooting 36% from the field and 62% at the line. They looked brilliant for stretches, but then the offense fell stagnant, most notably over a nine-minute stretch between the third and fourth quarters when the home team failed to convert a field goal.
Mitchell struggled to 21 points, finishing 8 for 26 from the field and 3 for 11 from 3 with three missed free throws over 36 minutes, 48 seconds.
Seven of her misses came from within six feet, including five layups.
Mitchell had a chance to pull the Fever within two early in the fourth quarter, intercepting Chelsea Gray’s inbound attempt — but the layup attempt wouldn’t go.
“Just a bad day,” she repeated.
The Aces certainly played a hand in Mitchell’s inefficiencies, forcing her to the outside and limiting her uncontested dribble-drive opportunities.
Aces guard Young, who netted a game-high 25 points and four assists, said it was a team effort vs. Mitchell with a focus on keeping her in front of them and making it tough on her when she doesn’t have the ball.
“And if she does, show her a crowd,” Young, the 2016 Indiana Miss Basketball, continued. “She’s a lot to handle, obviously. She can score at a high level, so the biggest thing for us is trying to make it difficult.”
“It’s all about making the right read,” Mitchell said of how the Fever might better attack the Aces’ defense inside. “Steve Nash-ing the ball out and trying to find the next one. But I definitely want to remain aggressive. Unfortunately it didn’t really fall my way shot-wise, but the goal is always to get there and create for others.”
Game 4 is set for 3 p.m. Sunday (ABC).
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Kelsey Mitchell stats today, poor shooting in Fever loss to Aces
