With the 1-on-1 Tournament set to begin on Wednesday, Unrivaled regular-season action temporarily pauses after a pair of Monday night games.
First, we had Phantom coming from behind to beat Vinyl 76-73, and then Mist dominating Rose 90-64.
Phantom’s one-two punch knocks out Vinyl
In traditional basketball, a couple of players can make all the difference. While basketball is a team sport, there are only a handful of players on the court at a time, so if one or two can play above the rest of the competition, it can tip the scales in one direction.
That’s what happened in Phantom’s win over Vinyl as Kelsey Plum and Aliyah Boston were unstoppable.
Boston had a game-high 33 points along with 16 rebounds, earning Player of the Game honors. Plum scored 30 points and shot 50 percent from the field. That means the pair scored 63 of their team’s 76 points.
It was simply an unreal performance from the best guard-big combo in Unrivaled.
The victory clinched a playoff spot for Phantom, making them the second Unrivaled team to punch their ticket to the postseason.
Even as Boston and Plum were almost unguardable, the game wasn’t easy for Phantom.
Midway through the third, Vinyl was ahead by 11. Then, Phantom went on a run. Boston scored inside, Kiki Iriafen converted a basket, Natasha Cloud hit a 3, and after a make from beyond the arc from Boston, it was suddenly a one-point game.
Vinyl re-established some breathing room entering the fourth, as they were ahead 65-61. Plum and Iriafen scored four-unanswered points to once again cut the deficit down to one, but Vinyl kept Phantom at bay for a bit longer with makes from Erica Wheeler, Rhyne Howard and Brittney Griner.
With the winning score set at 76 and Vinyl at 73 point, they were knocking on the door of victory.
Unfortunately for them, their shots went cold—and Plum took over. She hit a 3-pointer to put Phantom ahead and then she destroyed Rae Burrell, her Los Angeles Sparks teammate, with a pump fake and some fancy footwork to win the game.
This season has been a letdown for Vinyl. They’ve struggled all year, and at 4-7, just making the postseason would be an accomplishment.
Howard had a good game with 22 points, and Dearica Hamby was efficient with 14 points on 60 percent shooting, but a bad shift in the third quarter and some poor offensive execution down the stretch led to another fall-from-ahead loss.
Mist vs. Rose was over before it began
Rose made news early on Monday, as they were part of a three-player trade with Breeze and Hive. Courtney Williams was moved from Vinyl to Breeze, Saniya Rivers from Hive to Vinyl and Azurá Stevens from Rose to Hive. It was the first in-season trade in Unrivaled history.
Perhaps the news of the trade that impacted Rose’s ability to play, because things got ugly in a hurry in their loss to Mist.
In the opening quarter, they were competing well. Shakira Austin and Chelsea Gray were scoring in bunches, and Rose was down by just two points after seven minutes of play. However, in the second quarter, Mist applied pressure, and Rose wilted away.
Breanna Stewart got going, Allisha Gray was contributing to the backcourt production, and once Arike Ogunbowale got hot, the advantage quickly ascended into double figures for Mist.
Stewart started the scoring for the Mist in the second half with a layup, and they were officially up by 20 points.
Rose was never able to spark any sort of run or response to Mist’s level of play, and that was the ball game. Ogunbowale, named Player of the Game, had 29 points in the win. Gray was lights out with 19 points on 70 percent shooting, and Stewart had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
In defeat, Austin had 19 points for Rose, and Chelsea Gray finished the game with 17.
Rose can still make the playoffs and salvage their title defense. After losing Stevens in Monday’s trade, we’ll see if another player is added to the club’s permanent roster or if they will rely on developmental players to supplement their group if injuries or illnesses drop them below five players.
