The two top teams in Unrivaled have proven they are, indeed, the best in the league. No. 1-seed Phantom and No. 2-seed Mist punched their tickets to the final with semifinal victories over Vinyl and Breeze.
The semis were electric, with a sold-out crowd of more than 18,000 filling Barclays Center in Brooklyn. But in the end, the underdogs couldn’t pull off an upset.
Now, Unrivaled will go back to Miami, and Mist and Phantom will play for the title at Sephora Arena on Wednesday, March 4 at 9:30 p.m.
ET on TNT/TruTV and Max.
Kelsey Plum was Unrivaled for Phantom
With Aliyah Boston out, it was clear Kelsey Plum was going to have to step up for Phantom—and she delivered.
She had a game-high 31 points along with six rebounds and five assists. When the door had to be closed on Vinyl, Plum slammed it shut, knocking down the game-winning 3 to put Phantom on top 83-75. Due to her tremendous performance, Phantom is now one win away from a title.
Tiffany Hayes also had a great game for Phantom. She had 19 points and knocked down three 3s. Kiki Irifaen dominated the glass with 11 rebounds and scored as well, with 17 points in the win. Dearica Hamby did everything to keep Vinyl in this game. She ended the night with 30 points. Her teammate Rhyne Howard was also doing her best to try to overcome Phantom with a 16-point game.
Phantom jumped out to a quick 8-4 lead in the opening quarter behind Plum and Iriafen dominating offensively. Vinyl settled into the game thanks Hamby attacking and briefly led 12-10. However, Phantom regained control and led 21-16 after one quarter of play. For the rest of the first half, the two teams exchanged baskets, but Vinyl went on a late run to close out the second quarter with a 49-46 lead.
In the third, Hamby and Rae Burrell kept piling on, and suddenly, Vinyl was in the driver’s seat, in front by nine points with under four minutes left to play in the frame.
That’s when Phantom demonstrated why they have the longest winning streak in the league.
Phantom went on a 10-0 run with Plum scoring eight of those points. She completed the comeback with a stepback 3, which gave Phantom the lead and forced Vinyl to call a timeout. Howard scored inside to give Vinyl back the lead, but Hayes took a deep 3 to put Phantom back in front.
Then, she repeated the offense with another deep bucket, and suddenly Phantom was up by four.
Natasha Cloud scored three the hard way for Phantom, and after Plum cut through the Vinyl defense to score on a finger roll, the lead had grown to seven points, and the winning score of 82 had been set.
Vinyl still had some fight left in them. Burrell hit a 3, and so did Erica Wheeler. Hamby then scored five-straight, and suddenly it was a 78-75 game. Phantom still had the advantage, needing just four more points—and they got them.
After Hayes scored inside, Plum went one-on-one against Wheeler, ending the game on a tough 3.
Mist completed an epic rally to beat Breeze
Early on, it looked like Breeze was going to cruise to victory. They were ahead 13-0 to start this contest, and given their talent level, it appeared they were in a perfect situation.
But Mist remained calm and chipped away at the deficit.
Late in the fourth, they got their first lead of the night on an Alanna Smith 3-pointer. Then Arike Ogunbowale did what she’s done countless times and delivered the killshot, hitting a 3 to win the game for Mist.
Ogunbowale ended the game with 21 points. Breanna Stewart was equally impactful, dishing the game-winning assist to Ogunbowale and scoring 23 points herself. Breeze had a balanced attack. Dominque Malonga had 18 points and 14 rebounds, and Paige Bueckers and Rickea Jackson each scored 17 points.
There were a few runs that were pivotal to Mist’s comeback.
In the second quarter, Stewart scored her first points of the game at the 5:26 mark. Then Allisha Gray scored and a Smith 3 put the Mist within 11 points. Stewart closed out the first half, scoring the last six points for Mist, and suddenly it was a two-possession game.
In the third, Breeze maintained their advantage. A Malonga basket inside made it a 10-point lead for Breeze, and they held onto that until the closing minutes of the quarter. Mist outscored Breeze 5-2 to end the third, which didn’t seem impactful at the time, but it made it a single-digit game to start the fourth.
A Malonga basket and a Bueckers 3 soon after, however, certainly made it seem like Breeze was still going to advance. After all, they needed just five more points while Mist needed 13.
Let this result be a reminder that it isn’t over till it’s over.
Ogunbowale jumpstarted Mist with a 3, and then Stewart took over. She scored inside over Jackson, blocked Malonga on the other end and then went coast-to-coast, scoring and getting fouled by Bueckers. Stewart made the free throw, and suddenly it was a two-point deficit. Cameron Brink blocked Stewart on the next Mist scoring opportunity, but she responded again by scoring inside to even the game at 67.
Then Smith hit her 3, and Ogunbowale put the Breeze to bed completely to end the incredible rally.
This contest was an example of veteran experience beating young talent. Breeze had everything going their way, but in crunch time, Smith was clutch, as was Ogunbowale, and Stewart was unguardable.
With the top teams playing each other for the title, Unrivaled should have an incredible finish to its second season on Wednesday night.
