Dallas Wings head coach Chris Koclanes felt his team had no honest answer for Indiana Fever star Kelsey Mitchell during their recent matchup, losing 88-78. Despite defensive adjustments and attempts to contain her, Mitchell’s pace, shooting, and ability to get to her spots proved too much to handle.
Mitchell scored a game-high 23 points in the victory, and was ably supported by Aliyah Boston [12 points, 11 rebounds] and Natasha Howard [11 points, 16 rebounds]. Aari McDonald, filling in for the injured Caitlin Clark, also impressed with 12 points.
Chris Koclanes Hails Kelsey Mitchell
Koclanes made these comments about Mitchell in his postgame press conference following the loss to the Fever. At first, the head coach credited Fever’s tempo, led by their backcourt, before focusing on Mitchell.
“I think Aaaris done a fantastic job of getting their pace up, or continuing with their pace in the absence of Caitlin, and putting lots of pressure on the paint and from the arc, right? I mean, four for six tonight, she’s just on a tear right now,” Koclanes said.
“And then, when you have somebody like Kelsey Mitchell, she’s just a nightmare. You can’t. We were never in a play with her. We were always trailing her. We couldn’t do anything,” he added.
He explained that even throwing extra defenders at Mitchell didn’t slow her down. In fact, it made things worse for the Wings as she got around more people, further putting the Wings defenders at a disadvantage.
“She’s tough,” Koclanes said. “She just plays with such a good change of pace. She’s really difficult to keep from getting to her spots, and so, we’ve got to learn and try to be better technically, and be more physical, and try to be able to disrupt offenses.”
Koclanes then acknowledged the overall strength of the Fevers’ offense, pointing out that Aliyah Boston also caused problems.
Earlier in the post-game interview, All-Star guard Paige Bueckers also spoke highly of Mitchell. When a reporter asked Bueckers what challenges she faced from Mitchell, she replied, “She’s mean; she’s just one of the toughest people to guard in the league.”
“I’m sure if you ask around, you can find a lot of those same answers, but just her quickness and her ability to score at all three levels,” Bueckers added.
She then praised Mitchell’s resilience and unwillingness to shy away from defensive pressure. Bueckers pointed out that her opponent fought through to get the ball to the spots she wanted.
The Wings’ next game is against the New York Liberty, the second-best team in the league. The Liberty is without superstar Breanna Stewart, but recently added Emma Meesseman to its roster.
The Liberty has not won since Stewart suffered an injury against the Los Angeles Sparks. As such, there is a chance that the Wing could end their losing streak, and thus extend Liberty’s.
