Unrivaled embarked on a scintillating start in its first weekend. It had a tough act to follow in its second week but given the large amount of star power that is in Miami, it would be up to the task.
Play began this past Friday with Phantom BC taking on Mist BC. At the time, both Phantom and Mist were in search of their first victory. A close and entertaining contest would see Phantom find its first Unrivaled victory in a 74-69 decision.
Phantom picked up the victory in large part because of two primary players – both of whom scored 29 points. One of those was Satou Sabally whose performance also included three rebounds. It also included 29 from Brittney Griner who also grabbed nine rebounds. Natasha Cloud also had herself a productive contest with nine assists and seven rebounds.
Mist was spearheaded by the 27 points and 11 rebounds courtesy of Breanna Stewart. Rickea Jackson also added 24 points with four rebounds. Courtney Vandersloot grabbed seven rebounds in addition to eight points (as did Aaliyah Edwards) and four assists.
Friday’s play began with two teams looking for their first win. It concluded with two teams attempting to avoid being placed in the loss column for the first time in Unrivaled. Those two combatants were Laces BC and Vinyl BC.
As was the case with Phantom and Mist, this one was also close but Laces ran its record to 3-0 with its 83-79 win over Vinyl.
All five players that saw playing time for Laces finished in double digits for points. That included Tiffany Hayes who concluded her game with 26 points and four rebounds. Hayes also made four of her eight 3-point attempts. It also saw Kayla McBride chime in with 22 points, four rebounds and three assists.
Alyssa Thomas concluded this game with a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds plus four assists. It was an 11-point, three-rebound contest for Kate Martin and Stefanie Dolson would add 10 points and five rebounds.
Five for Vinyl also would be in double digits points-wise. That included Dearica Hamby who led all Vinyl point-getters with 18 plus eight rebounds and four steals. A pair of 16-point scorers also aided the Vinyl effort. One of those was Rhyne Howard who scored 16 points plus four rebounds. She made three of her seven attempts from deep. Arike Ogunbowale also contributed 16 points and sent out four assists. Ogunbowale made four of her eight tries from 3-point range.
Jordin Canada finished with 14 points plus four assists and Rae Burrell tallied 11 points.
The following day would see Mist BC match up against another team that – at the time – was also looking for its first Unrivaled victory. That team was Rose BC. At one point late in the contest, Mist had a 66-65 lead on Rose, but Rose finished the game with a 6-0 run to once again deny Mist in a 71-66 decision.
Nineteen of those 71 Rose points were placed on the scoreboard courtesy of Lexie Hull. She also grabbed three rebounds and sent out three assists. Kahleah Copper finished with 18 points and four rebounds. Hull’s 19 were off the bench – and so were the 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists of Azurá Stevens. She also connected on two of her four tries from 3-point range. Chelsea Gray finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Mist was once again placed in the loss column despite 20 points and nine rebounds from Stewie not to mention 14 points and five rebounds from Edwards. Jewell Loyd – the centerpiece of a recent blockbuster trade involving the Seattle Storm, Las Vegas Aces and Los Angeles Sparks – added 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Jackson may not have scored the 20-plus she had in the previous Mist contest but she did score 10 points and bring down three rebounds in 15 minutes.
Following Rose’s first win of Unrivaled, a team that previously got its first win had next at Wayfair Arena. That team was Phantom which was looking to keep its winning ways going.
The problem for Phantom BC was that it ran into the buzzsaw that is the Lunar Owls. The Lunar Owls picked up the 82-58 win over Phantom.
A major factor in the Lunar Owls win was the 37 points, 18 rebounds, five assists and three steals courtesy of Napheesa Collier. Another factor was the 21 points, five assists and five rebounds from Allisha Gray. Another was the 16 points and three rebounds that came from Skylar Diggins-Smith.
Phantom BC was led by Sabally. She led all Phantom point-getters with 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists to put her one board shy of a double-double. Natisha Hiedeman – a recent addition to Phantom – wasted no time giving her team a boost with 18 points and three rebounds. Griner also contributed 10 points and five rebounds to the Phantom cause.
Lunar Owls BC competed in the final game of Saturday’s play. The team was part of the first game of Monday’s play with previously unbeaten Vinyl BC as its adversary. And as was the case on Saturday (and in the other two occasions up to that point at Unrivaled), Lunar Owls BC won again – this time in a 67-57 decision over Vinyl BC.
Two 19-point scorers keyed the efforts for Lunar Owls BC. One was Collier who became the first player to reach 100 points at Unrivaled. She also had another impressive contest with a double-double that included 17 rebounds plus three blocks. Gray concluded Monday’s matchup with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists. It was a 16-point, four-assist, three-rebound outing for Diggins-Smith.
Four from Vinyl BC would have double-digit point totals. Two of them had 14 apiece – including Aliyah Boston who was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. The other was Canada whose performance included four rebounds along with the 14 points. Speaking of double-doubles, Ogunbowale contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds to Vinyl’s efforts. Burrell tallied 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.
With Lunar Owls BC running its record to 4-0, Laces BC were looking to keep pace. The team had an opportunity to do so against Rose BC – and did just that with its 71-64 victory to dispatch of Rose.
McBride led all scorers with 31 points. She also made all five of her free throw attempts along with four of her 10 tries from distance. Hayes had herself another big game with a double-double of 24 points and 11 rebounds along with three assists. Nine of those 71 points occurred courtesy of Dolson along with six rebounds. Martin also brought down six boards in addition to seven points.
For Rose, Brittney Sykes led her team with 18 points and five rebounds. Reese also contributed 17 points and seven rebounds along with two steals. Gray’s performance also included six rebounds and five assists to go along with nine points.
Unrivaled contests will resume on Friday with Phantom BC taking on Rose BC. Plus it will see either Laces BC or Lunar Owls BC keep its unbeaten mark intact.
Also – on Saturday, Mist will have another chance at its first Unrivaled win. It will not be an easy task going up against Vinyl BC. Plus, Rose will take to the court at Miami’s Wayfair Arena against Laces BC.
