Kennewick’s Leilani Mitchell a hit Down Under

To say that Dennis Mitchell is excited to watch his daughter, Leilani, play basketball at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics would be an understatement.

The longtime Kennewick resident left Thursday for Brazil, but he started packing Monday and was done by noon Tuesday.

“I don’t say a whole lot about her,” Mitchell said. “I always taught them (his children) not to brag about themselves. But it’s hard to believe she is in the Olympics. I keep asking myself, ‘Is this real?’ When I get there, it will be real.”

Leilani, a former Kennewick High School standout, has dual citizenship in the United States and Australia.

Her dad is American, while her mom, Eleanor “Ellie” Majid, was born in Australia (Thursday Island, Queensland). When it came to the Olympics, Leilani chose to honor her mother, who died in 2009, by trying out for the Australian team.

“She would have really enjoyed watching Leilani play,” Dennis said of his wife. “Especially going to the Olympics and representing Australia.”

Dennis and his youngest son, Robbie, made the trek to Rio to watch Leilani play. They were scheduled to arrive Friday and be in the stands Saturday, when Australia finishes pool play against Belarus.

“We have tickets in place,” Dennis said. “Robbie is supposed to have all of that lined up. We are hoping to see a couple of other sports while we are there.”

The Aussie women are 4-0 in pool play heading into Saturday’s game, and Leilani, 31, has been a big part of the Opals’ success.

The 5-foot-5 point guard had 18 points in the Aussies’ first win over Brazil, then tossed in 11 points in a victory over Turkey. She then had three points and five assists against France. Thursday, she had 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds as the Opals rallied to beat Japan.

Recently retired, Dennis hasn’t missed a second of any game.

“I have been able to watch them all,” Dennis said. “I recorded them too.”

The trip to Rio is not the first time Dennis has traveled to watch Leilani play.

“I went to the world championships in Turkey last year,” he said. “I’ve been to France to watch her play, and Australia and New York. I have been all over the place watching her. It has been fun.”

Leilani is a 2003 Kennewick High graduate. She was first-team all-Big Nine Conference and all-state as a junior and senior, and was the Big Nine player of the year as a senior. As a freshman in 2000, she helped the Lions win the Class 4A state title and finish the season with a 29-0 record.

She then played at Idaho (2003-06) and Utah (2007-08) before beginning her pro career.

At Idaho, Leilani was a standout from the get-go.

She averaged 15.6 points, 3.2 steals and 5.9 assists per game as a freshman. She was named the 2004 Big West Freshman of the Year and earned first-team Big West honors.

Her sophomore year, she averaged 17.7 points, 5.9 assists and 3.9 steals per game. She was named honorable mention All-America by the Associated Press, and was one of 11 finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award, given to the nation’s top point guard.

As a junior, Leilani averaged 17.6 points per game and ranked second in the nation in steals with four per game. She left Idaho after her junior year and transferred to Utah, where she continued to shine.

After sitting out a year per NCAA rules, Leilani was named the Mountain West Conference player of the year after averaging 16.8 points, 7.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds a game. She also had seven double-doubles and eight games of 20 points or more.

She finished her college career as one of six NCAA Division I players since 1999-2000 to record at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 steals. The others were Alana Beard (Duke), Shenise Johnson (Miami), Maya Moore (Connecticut), Courtney Vandersloot (Gonzaga) and Skylar Diggins (Notre Dame).

Leilani is the only daughter of Dennis and Eleanor. She and her five brothers — Travis, Reggie, Tyler, Troy and Robbie — all played basketball at Kennewick High, but she is the only one to play professionally.

In the 2008 WNBA draft, the Phoenix Mercury selected Leilani in the second round (25th overall). She was traded to the New York Liberty before the season started.

She was named the WNBA’s Most Improved Player for 2010.

Leilani played for New York until 2013. She skipped the 2014 season to spend time with family in Australia, then played the 2015 season with Phoenix.

She has played overseas in France, and was named the Import Player of the Year for the 2009-10 season. She also has played professionally in Croatia and Australia.

“She’s had quite the career,” Dennis said.

This story was originally published August 12, 2016 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Kennewick’s Leilani Mitchell a hit Down Under."