LAS VEGAS — In the first appearance of her career — Aliyah Boston came and saw — but didn’t conquer in Saturday night’s WNBA All-Star game.
Team Stewart, named after New York Liberty forward and team captain Breanna Stewart, took down Team Wilson, named after Las Vegas Aces forward and team captain A’ja Wilson, 143-127, in a game of four-point shots and little defense. Players were able to score seemingly at-will throughout the All-Star game in Las Vegas, as Team Stewart’s 143 points and the combined total of 270 points both set a new WNBA All-Star game records.
“We played, but just this is all about having fun,” Fever rookie and fellow All-Star Boston said. “It was to entertain the crowd, so it wouldn’t be really fun if everybody was just trying to block shots.”
Mitchell was a reserve on Team Stewart and checked in early in the second quarter. She finished the game with two points, four rebounds, and three assists.
Aside from playing in the game, one of Mitchell’s main goals of her first All-Star appearance was to learn from fellow players in the league.
“For me, it was about soaking it all in,” Mitchell said. “Whether the game was good or not for me, it was about the experience, and I enjoyed myself. … I learned to be a pro every day. No one ever sees, understanding what the work takes, and I think I got a good glimpse of that this weekend.”
Mitchell played alongside one of her longtime mentors, the Seattle Storm’s Jewell Loyd, on Team Stewart. Loyd was the game’s MVP, breaking an All-Star record with 31 points.
Loyd, whose parents were celebrating their 40th anniversary on Saturday, wanted to hit 40 in their honor. But she settled for 31, with teammates feeding her passes whenever they could.
“Oh, it was amazing,” Mitchell said. “It was amazing to see, and I think for us, it was about making sure she got every shot she needed to hit.”
In the All-Star game, Mitchell and Boston were opponents for the first time. Boston, the first rookie to start an All-Star Game since 2014, played 19 minutes with six points, 11 rebounds, and two assists.
“On the bench, when she would take a shot, I was like, ‘Go, Kelsey, go,’” Boston said. “And then I was like, ‘Oops.'”
Boston was drafted by and played with Wilson, a fellow former South Carolina women’s basketball player, and the Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray rounded out three Gamecocks on Team Wilson.
While Boston never played with Gray or Wilson at South Carolina, she got a chance on Saturday.
“It was amazing,” Boston said. “Even though it’s just for fun, you could really just see being in that space with them, like, seeing them last season, it just feels really good to be in that space.”