When former South Carolina women's basketball star Tiffany Mitchell went to the WNBA's Indiana Fever with the ninth pick of the 2016 draft, she joined a team that had made the playoffs in 11 consecutive seasons and the conference finals or better in five.
Since then, things haven't exactly gone the Fever's way — after one brief playoff appearance in 2016, Indiana has posted a 10-35 record since, including 10 straight losses to open the 2018 season, the worst start in franchise history and tied for the team's longest losing streak.
But throughout it all, Mitchell has posted steady, consistent improvement and maintained a level-headed approach, guided in part by Gamecock coach Dawn Staley.