It did not happen as expected. Vinyl, however, did snap their three-game skid with an upset over Laces, 70-63.
Instead of Rhyne Howard raining 3s, it was a career-best game from Rae Burrell that returned Vinyl to the win column. Sweet Baby Rae converted her customary energy into efficient, impactful offense, scoring 22 points, including hitting two 3-pointers with confidence. All the while, she still was everywhere defensively, swiping five steals.
The final one set her up for the game winner, as she
stole Laces’ inbound pass, was fouled and hit the free throw for the win.
Brittney Griner also was a game changer for Vinyl.
Early on, it looked like this might become an easy win for Laces, as they started the game up 7-0 and then extended their advantage to 11-3. But, that’s when BG scored her first bucket. She would put in four more points in the first, with her six points putting Vinyl down by just two points, 15-13, by the end of the first.
From there, Vinyl, led by Burrell, maintained the momentum that Griner generated, even if it got a little shaky in the fourth. Up by seven entering the untimed final frame, Laces cut Vinyl’s advantage to as few as two points before a 3 from Howard, only her second of the game, set up Burrell to seal (or steal) the deal.
Laces, somewhat curiously, relied more heavily on their reserve unit—Naz Hillmon, Jordin Canada and Maddy Siegrist—in this contest.
Hillmon played the most minutes, while all three played more than Alyssa Thomas, who logged under 10 minutes and scored just two points. The Hillmon-Canada-Siegrist trio played well, evidenced by them cutting their deficit to two points late in the fourth quarter, but, it was a bit odd to have Thomas, Jackie Young and Brittney Sykes on the bench in winning time. No one is better than Thomas at wringing out wins, while Young had a team-high 17 points in her less than 12 minutes of action. Sykes’ scoring touch was off on Saturday afternoon, but she’s still putting together an All-Unrivaled-caliber season.
Possibly, head coach Andrew Wade is prioritizing the longterm over a single win, however, after Mist won Saturday afternoon’s first game, Laces are no longer alone at the top of the standings.
Mist moves into a tie for first place
Credit to Hive for making Mist earn the 82-69 victory.
Although the outcome was never in doubt, a 12-point lead for Mist after the first quarter seemed ominous for Hive. Instead, Kelsey Mitchell got buzzing, helping Hive cut the margin to just a single point late in the second quarter. Mist, however, closed the half strong, putting them up by 10 points at the break.
Throughout the second half, Mist remained in control, with Arike Ogunbowale scoring the final five points that eventually would give Mist the win.
Arike finished with 18 points, as Breanna Stewart led Mist with 19 points and nine rebounds and Allisha Gray added 17. Alanna Smith enjoyed her best Unrivaled game yet, hustling her way to a 13-point and 11-rebound double-double.
Mitchell set her Unrivaled scoring high with 25 points, boosted by a 5-for-7 effort from behind the arc. Sonia Citron also matched her Unrivaled high with 17 points. Monique Billings, in her first Unrivaled start, finished with a 14-points and 14-rebound double-double.
