WNBA DRAFT

April 10, 2023

Taylor Mikesell

Indiana Fever

Q. I know there are a lot of feelings, but if you could describe it in one word, what would it be?

TAYLOR MIKESELL: Just blessed more than anything, just blessed to be here.

Q. Just wanted to talk to you about your ability to shoot and how much you are both excited to do that at the W level and just the fact you've always been comfortable with not just threes but long threes, how that makes it particularly easy to translate to that next level now.

TAYLOR MIKESELL: Yeah, that's something that I've always liked to pride myself on, my shooting ability and scoring ability. But I'm just excited to get to Indiana and do that, just be me basically. But yeah, I think being a little less athletic, my shooting ability has been something that's helped offset my lack of athleticism at times, but I'm also just excited to get to Indiana and be a sponge and find ways that I can get better.

Q. You're joining an Indiana team that seems to be picking up quite a bit of talent. Tonight they drafted Aliyah Boston, they have Destanni Henderson coming back, they've got NaLyssa Smith. How do you find yourself fitting into this team right off the jump and how much of an impact do you think you can have this season?

TAYLOR MIKESELL: It's an incredible list of people you just named. There's also people on the list they didn't even name, Kelsey Mitchell and other people that are incredibly talented, have been veterans of the league. I'm excited to get there and pick their brains in ways that I can help add to the team and be a good addition and be a vocal leader wherever they need me.

Q. Obviously for you Kelsey Mitchell is also someone who came from Ohio State. How well do you know her, and what's your excitement level to play with her?

TAYLOR MIKESELL: Very excited to play with her and just to get to pick her brain a little bit about the league and just her journey through the W. I got to talk to her a little bit earlier today, and she gave me some advice and told me just to enjoy the moment and just keep being me.

Q. I don't know if you saw at all the crowd that has amassed in Massillon tonight to watch you get selected. How nice is it that you're going to be closer to them, to your hometown?

TAYLOR MIKESELL: I've not seen that but I am very excited to see that. My hometown and home has meant a lot to me. Just being close to home with Ohio State has meant so much to have my family in my backyard. So I'm excited to be that close to home and have my family ties.

Q. You and Grace Berger have battled for the last two years and even further back than that. What does it mean now to go from playing against her and now playing with her for Indiana?

TAYLOR MIKESELL: Yeah, Grace is incredibly talented and we've had a lot of battles when she was at Indiana and I was at Ohio State. Even when I was at Maryland we had some battles. She's an incredible competitor, and I'm excited to be on the other end of that this time.