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THIS SEASON:
Portia Mitchell begins her redshirt junior year at USC... Her continued development has made a strong impact on the team... A player with good skills and great size... Continues to mature as a hard-working, responsible player.
2001-02 RS SOPHOMORE SEASON:
Mitchell played in 19 games and made two starts as a sophomore... She averaged 2.4 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game... Ranked among the top-10 blockers in the Pac-10 for much of the season but dropped to No. 12 by the end... Made her first collegiate start against Morgan State (Nov. 21) and played a season-high 17 minutes... Surpassed numerous career highs throughout the season, including field goals made (4), field goals attempted (7) and total points (10) against Morgan State (Nov. 21); field goal percentage (60.0) against Washington State (Feb. 3); free throws made (3) and free throw percentage (.750) against Oregon State (Dec. 20); rebounds (7) against Texas; and steals against Arizona (Jan. 17).
2000-01 RS FRESHMAN SEASON:
In her first active season, Mitchell played in 14 games and she averaged 1.1 points and 1.6 rebounds per outing... Hit a field goal and posted a block in five different games throughout the season... Made her collegiate debut against Creighton (Nov. 17), collecting three rebounds in six minutes... Added a season-high four points and four rebounds against Sacramento State (Dec. 9).
1999-00 REDSHIRT SEASON:
Mitchell did not play during the 1999-00 season because she did not meet conditioning requirements.
IN HIGH SCHOOL:
A 1999 graduate of Narbonne High in Harbor City, Calif., Mitchell was a Women's Basketball Journal All-American and Nike All-American as a senior and a Student Sport All-American selection following her sophomore, junior and senior seasons... In 1997 and 1998, she was a member of the AAU National team... She was an All-Bay League first team selection her sophomore year, and a second team selection as a freshman... In 1997, Mitchell earned all-state first team honors and was selected to the all-area and All-South Bay/Westside second teams... She played in the Olympic Girls Development League for six years... A prep teammate of current USC guard Jessica Cheeks and forward/center Ebony Hoffman.
PERSONAL:
Portia Lorraine Mitchell was born on Feb. 17, 1981, in Los Angeles, Calif. ... The daughter of George and Janice Mitchell, she has three sisters, Naresh, Onita and Raimi... Her mother, Janice, was a three-sport athlete at Harbor Junior College, playing volleyball, basketball and softball... Her father, George, is a professional drummer who works with artist Patti LaBelle... Her uncle is Marcus Cotton, a former outside linebacker for USC (1984-87)... A sociology major who would like to pursue her dream of playing professional basketball... In the summer of 1998, she was one of 25 prep athletes invited to try out for the USA Olympic Team.
