Wednesday, Sep. 24, 2008

Leilani's road to WNBA title won't go through Seattle

By Eric Degerman, sportstricities.com

I'll admit that if it weren't for the Seattle Storm, Sue Bird or Kennewick High grad Leilani Mitchell, then my interest in the Women's NBA would be minimal.

However, I'd been hoping for a Seattle vs. New York Liberty final and that notion that Mitchell would return to her home state for finals.

Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Sparks -- and the injury to Seattle star Lauren Jackson -- ended that. So the Western Conference finals pits L.A. vs. San Antonio.

Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals begins Friday at Madison Square Garden vs. the Detroit Shock.

Mitchell, age 23, wears No. 23 and is one of four rookies on the New York roster. At 5-foot-5 and 59 kilograms, the University of Utah product is the most diminutive.

And yet, she's getting solid minutes, averaging 15.2 per game during the regular season. She shot a solid 81% from the line and 40.4% from beyond the arc.

Her big chance in the Big Apple came early in the season when starting point guard Loree Moore nursed back spasm. Mitchell stepped up vs. Houston with an 18-point effort that made head coach Pat Coyle look like a genius.

Then, the New York Post ran a short feature on Mitchell, a third-team All-American and first-round pick by the Phoenix Mercury who was on verge of getting cut in training camp.

Ironically, the Mercury did not qualify for the playoffs.

Mitchell seems to be gaining more confidence with each playoff game, logging 5 minutes in Game 1, 9 in Game 2 and then 15 minutes during Sunday's series-clinching game vs. Connecticut. She has 4 assists and zero turnovers in the past two playoff games, and the A/TO ratio is the key stat for point guards.

If you happen to be the Garden on Friday, a "NY Liberty Insider" gets tickets for $15, $20 or $40.