Playing the game of stars at home creates a special feeling for Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever Players
Indianapolis (AP) – The Indiana fever goalkeeper Kelsey Mitchell, spent last week to repress the excitement of the stars.
First of all, she had to play crucial games.
Friday, she finally had the chance to show what she was thinking of playing the match on Saturday on her home at home. Mitchell’s eyes opened widely, the brand’s smile stretched on her face and the words started to fly from his mouth.
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“I’m grateful,” she said. “I am happy that my family and friends can come. It’s close to us because I am from Cincinnati, so many of us can connect, reconnect through basketball. It’s just fun, it’s a good experience and I’m grateful, I’m grateful to be here. “
Mitchell makes her third consecutive trip to the stars, it just at the bottom of the street at home, and is joined by two teammates – goalkeeper Caitlin Clark and Center Aliyah Boston – for the second consecutive year. But nothing is routinit.
Indianapolis is the 13th city to welcome the stars on weekend, which was played mainly in the New York corridor in Washington during its first decade of existence and moved to the west more recently. Last year’s match was in Phoenix, and Las Vegas welcomed three of the previous five and could also be in the mixture next summer.
If things are also happening on Saturday and Friday, maybe Indianapolis will be in regular rotation. Friday evening’s festivities attracted around 15,000 fans to the arena.
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“The last time I did the 3 -point shooting in Vegas, it didn’t feel exhausted,” said 3 points Sabrina Ionescu champion. “The last time (Stephen Curry) beat me when we were here in Indy. So very happy to be able to be here and make a good show. ”
Most of the city’s players such as Atlanta’s goalkeeper Allisha know the “hosiers” both as the nickname of the University of Indiana and as the title of popular film and enjoy playing in a state with so much basketball history.
But not everyone had the same hometown experience for star star games.
“Playing in front of fans at home is really fun, although it brings a mixture of everything,” said Quadruple All-Star Kelsey Plum, who played six seasons with Las Vegas before joining Los Angeles this year. “At the time, I was in Vegas (where) we had a lot of visitors to the city, so that didn’t seem super intimate to me. It was a bit like everyone encouraged their person.”
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It is unlikely that this is the case on Saturday evening.
While Clark and Boston, the last two recruits of the year of the WNBA, have more stars power, Mitchell is venerated locally for his prowess of scores, his optimistic personality and his resilience. The eight-year-old veteran finally obtained his first taste of the basketball of the playoffs last year, which explains why Clark expects that Saturday is an emotional game for Mitchell.
But it is not only the native cities with a drawing power.
The former fever guard Erica Wheeler, now a teammate of Skylar Diggins, 34, in Seattle, attracted a strong ovation when she was reintroduced during the skills challenge on Friday.
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Diggins, seven stars, was the winner of the Indiana basketball prize in 2009 before leading her hometown our Notre-Dame fighter Irish with three consecutive appearances of the Final Four, one in the same field field organizing the match on Saturday.
“It’s always love when I come here,” said Diggins, calling for the presentation of Thursday’s orange carpet the best she saw. “Fans are incredible. It is a big host city. It is logical that it is here and I am happy because as I said, I can see a lot of my family and my friends, and I have already seen people in town that I have not seen for years.”
Indianapolis’s experience already has other throws so that their cities play the host.
“It will be good, but I have the impression that this evening, we are represented by many dream fans of Atlanta, so I can’t wait,” said Gray. “The League must put its All -Star (game) in Atlanta – soon.”
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Mitchell could also approve this idea, since it would give him another chance to eat at the Wheeler restaurant in Atlanta.
For the moment, however, Mitchell intends to savor this rare moment with his family, friends, teammates and, yes, even competitors.
“For us, as people, this is an opportunity to connect to different levels and for us, I think, basketball is a way to do so,” said Mitchell. “And I think it’s fun for the city, I think it’s fun for our families. It’s just fun for the world, given everything that is happening.”
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-ceketball
