​INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell has embraced her role as a steadying influence this season and the team has benefited.After a 4-4 start, Mitchell calmly challenged teammates to improve defensively, put a higher priority on attention to detail and maintain their perspective for the long haul of the season.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIt worked, and now the four-time All-Star also has been a key player in the midseason turnaround that has Indiana re-emerging as a WNBA title contender.“Kelsey’s awesome,” All-Star center Aliyah Boston said after finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds in Sunday’s victory at defending champion Las Vegas. “She shows up every single day and gives us everything she has. She hoops out of her mind. She’s the fastest guard I’ve ever seen and for her to continue to do that and make teams guard her, she deserves the world.”Mitchell has done it before. Last year, she and Boston may have carried the injury-depleted Fever into the WNBA Finals — if not for Mitchell’s severe cramping in her lower body where her legs and feet went numb for about seven seconds during a Game 5 loss to the Aces in a WNBA semifinal.This season, Mitchell is on pace for the best season of her nine-year career. She’s averaging 22.6 points while shooting 48.6% from the field and 41.6% from 3-point range — all career bests — and she’ll start next weekend at the All-Star Game in Chicago.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBut even as her stats climb, it’s her impact behind the scenes that has really paid dividends.Caitlin Clark’s early season shooting slump was followed by a sideline spat between the three-time All-Star and coach Stephanie White.That’s when the 30-year-old Mitchell jumped into the fray with some perspective about successfully navigating this environment.“I think hard times make you or hard times can break you, and hopefully it doesn’t break us,” Mitchell said in early June. “I think losing is important, I think you find out a lot about yourself, about where you need to be, where you’re missing the mark and I’m happy it’s happening now. If there are frustrations, I would rather it be now than later.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe team heeded the advice and has responded with a resurgence.The Fever went 3-1 on a recent four-game Western swing, a trip that included two double-digit wins over the Aces. And though Wednesday’s 88-75 loss at home to Golden State dampened the ascent, Indiana remains tied for fifth with a 14-10 mark heading into home games Friday against Seattle and Saturday against Commissioner’s Cup champion New York.Boston and Clark, also All-Star starters, have been on a roll.Boston is averaging a career-best 17.2 points per game, and Clark is at a career-high 19.7 points per game while committing a career-low 4.6 turnovers.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementMitchell knows the next step is playing at a high level consistently.“It’s about t