PHOENIX — For most of the first half of Indiana’s game against Phoenix on Sunday afternoon, Kelsey Mitchell was in an unfamiliar place.

She was sitting on the bench.

Mitchell, the Fever’s leading scorer, only played five minutes in the first half before heading to the bench, replaced by Erica Wheeler. Mitchell started the game 0-of-3 from the field, which were all 3-pointers, and had a long-range pass from Caitlin Clark at halfcourt graze off her fingers under the basket.

At the 4:49 mark of the first quarter, she sat down. She didn’t leave the bench again for the rest of the half.

“It was just a decision that was made,” head coach Christie Sides said of Mitchell not playing most of the half after the Fever's 88-82 victory. “But Kelsey came back in the second half and just killed it.”

Fever news: Not even a migraine stops Caitlin Clark, who nearly has a triple-double

Mitchell had trouble getting open in her limited shots in the first half. But by the time the Fever left the locker room at halftime, down 11 points to the Mercury on the road, she knew she could take over.

“I like to hoop, and there ain’t going to be nothing that can stop that, nothing or nobody,” Mitchell said. “For me, it's about staying focused on the right thing, being a good teammate, you know, obviously being ready when my number is called.”

Mitchell scored nine points in the third quarter, with six of them coming in a 30-second span. Two of her 3-point shots were assisted by Clark, pushing the Fever rookie to eight assists in just the third quarter (she ended with 12).

Those nine points were crucial, along with Mitchell’s defensive effort. She stole the ball out of the air off a pass from Brittney Griner, and that was the start of a 20-2 run for the Fever throughout the third quarter.

It was what was expected out of the seven-year pro and longtime Fever player.

“Kelsey is a pro, and she stepped up big time and did exactly what our team needed to in that second half, on both ends,” Sides said. “I couldn't be more happy for her, proud of her for what she did for our team tonight.”

Fever score: Mitchell’s strong play after 1st-half benching, Clark near triple-double lead Fever to win

Despite only playing 21 minutes (16 in the second half), Mitchell was the second-leading scorer with 16 points,  just behind Aliyah Boston’s 17.

She was pivotal in the final minutes of the game, too; the Fever fought back from down seven points with four minutes left, and Mitchell’s and-one elbow jumper gave the Fever an 81-80 lead with just 1:22 left in the game. That basket was met with chest bumps and cheers from her teammates, and for good reason.

Two Mercury free throws later, though, Mitchell was up for another big shot. She drained the long two-pointer for an 83-82 lead; a lead the Fever didn’t give up again.

“She hit some really big shots,” Sides said of Mitchell’s second half. “There was a moment there I wanted to give her just a little bit of a rest, and I told her, ‘You’ve got two minutes, and then I need you to finish this game.’ And she did everything we asked and helped us get this win.”

Mitchell is a seasoned veteran, someone who knows the ups and downs of the WNBA. She knows there can be ups and downs even within games.

It all comes down to finding a rhythm as quickly as she could, and that happened in the second half. And she went from benched in the first half to the Fever’s second-half hero.

“I’m a hooper, man, any given day I’m going to hoop,” Mitchell said “I'm gonna do what I need to do to get where I gotta get. I think for me, it's about finding my spots, finding my rhythm, finding the angles and where I can obviously play where I’m at my best. Any vision I see I'm trying to utilize as much as possible.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How Kelsey Mitchell went from benched in the first to second-half hero