Vandals lose Mitchell, two others

Star junior point guard Leilani Mitchell and two key freshmen have quit the University of Idaho women’s basketball team.

Also leaving are starting post Jordyn Bowen and backup guard MacKenzie Flynn.

A university press release said the trio is leaving for personal reasons.

“I’m disappointed, but at the same time I recognize these things happen in athletics,” UI coach Mike Divilbiss said in the release. “We thank them for their past contributions to the program and wish them the best.”

Sophomore Stephanie Sax, who was limited to three games because of injuries, decided to quit playing but will stay in school. Earlier, sophomore guard Emily Halliday also said she was ending her playing career because of injuries.

Mitchell, who has started all 83 games in her three-year career, earned national recognition while filling up the Vandals record book. She was honorable mention on two All-American teams and a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award, given to the nation’s top point guard.

Mitchell said she did not consider leaving the Vandals until after the season and informed Divilbiss of her decision on Monday.

“It was just the right time,” she said. “It was just kind of a mutual decision. I talked it over with my family. I’ve been thinking about it and I think it’s the right time for me to leave.”

As for where she may go, she said, “I have no idea. I haven’t talked to anyone and I haven’t thought about it. I think I’ll go to a Division I. I think it will be hard, but I think it will be good, too, because there is so much to learn.”

A graduate of Kennewick High School, Mitchell set two school records during her junior year – career steals (323) and 3-pointers in a game (seven). She averaged 17.6 points, 5.6 assists and 4.0 steals. She was second in the nation in steals, a Western Athletic Conference record, and 19th in assists.

Her 504 career assists are second in school history and she is third in free throws made (433) and 3-pointers made (164), fifth in points (1,471) and ninth in field goals (441). Her 118 steals as a junior is the school record.

Mitchell was a second-team WAC selection after two years as a first-team All-Big West pick and has been picked as all-tournament all three years.

Bowen, who is from Las Vegas, became a starter just before conference play and averaged 4.0 points and 3.7 rebounds. Flynn, of Redmond, Wash., started seven games and averaged 4.2 points.

Idaho finished the season 10-19 overall and 5-11 in its first season in the WAC after moving from the Big West Conference.

“We’ve been through an extremely difficult season in our transition to the Western Athletic Conference,” Idaho athletic director Rob Spear said. “The non-conference schedule was very challenging and the travel was demanding. Those factors, combined with disappointing results on the court, made for a difficult environment. … We, however, do have available to all student-athletes a full range of support services and an open-door policy for them to express any concerns. These players did not take full advantage of these options.”

Spear said he will accommodate the players in their future endeavors, but said there would be no comment from the university except the release.

Last month, assistant coach Debbie Roueche resigned after five years.

“I’m looking to get into a teaching job,” she said. “I don’t have anything lined up yet. I’m trying to get back into the Kennewick district.”

Roueche coached Mitchell, Emily Faurholt, who just completed her senior year, and Heather Thoelke, who finished up in 2005, in high school.

“This level is a really intense level,” she said. “I felt I needed more balance in my life. I’ve been going nonstop with basketball since I was in high school. I thought I needed to take a break.”

Roueche, who played for Divilbiss at Lewis-Clark State and joined him when he became the UI coach in 2001, said she didn’t know about the moves.

•Four other area players are also leaving.

Elaina Renius, a 6-3 sophomore post for the Bulldogs, is joining the GU volleyball team. Guard Dominique Harris told head coach Kelly Graves she wanted to be closer to her Los Angeles home. Sarah Schramm, who redshirted as a freshman and had the recent season cut short by an injury, decided to leave because GU doesn’t have the major she wants, graphic design. Schramm will join her sister at Western Washington.

Eastern Washington is losing sophomore post Abby Johnson, a Clarkston graduate.