Mühl’s talent shines in SuperCup before exiting with knee injury
By Christan Braswell
At the end of May, Storm rookie Nika Mühl signed on with Turkish Club Beşiktaş JK to develop her game further and compete.
That’s exactly what the 5’11 guard did before being carried off the court on a stretcher late in the third period with a left knee injury. She returned to the bench later in the game and was comforted by one of her many Storm veterans in Fenerbahçe forward Gabby Williams.
Williams finished with 11 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.
After hardly playing during her first WNBA season, Mühl shined early and often in the first period, leading Beşiktaş with eight points out of the team’s 16 at the end of it.
The second quarter is where Mühl’s basketball IQ was on full display. Knowing her team needed more than her scoring, she piloted the offense to perfection as she raked in seven assists. One of her helpers came after a steal that led to a trip to the line for teammate Khaalia Hillsman. The veteran center led the team in scoring with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Halfway through the second, two of Mühl’s assists in the quarter came on back-to-back possessions running the pick-and-roll with Hillsman to perfection as if she was back at UConn with Mystics forward Aaliyah Edwards.
Late in the third is when Mühl suffered an injury to her left knee. At that point, she had played 28 straight minutes. Before the injury, even the broadcasters were concerned that Besiktas coach Aziz Akkaya failed to utilize a single bench player until late in the third.
Without their newfound leader in the rookie Mühl, Beşiktaş was no match for the heavily favored Fenerbahçe group who won their second straight Supercup, 79-63. The team features WNBA players Emma Meesseman, Ariel Atkins, Julie Allemand, Sevgi Uzun, Tina Charles, and Gabby Williams. Charles had 2 points and four rebounds.
With Mühl on the floor, Beşiktaş shot 56.4 percent from the field. Once she left the game, the team averaged a horrid 21 percent and only connected on three field goals.
After the game, Mühl joined her teammates on the podium for a picture.
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