MEDLEY, Fla. – Chelsea Gray and Angel Reese are a tough pair to guard in the pick-and-roll. They had no problem executing it down the stretch of their fourth Unrivaled win.
Gray scored the game-winning shot to finish with 26 points, Reese had 16 points and 15 rebounds for another double-double, and the Rose beat the Vinyl 61-55 in the first of two Unrivaled games Tuesday night.
Despite leading 13-2 after the first quarter, the Rose found itself trailing 49-48 heading into the fourth quarter. But, the Rose won the final frame and are now .500, improving to 4-4.
“We went down, and nobody really hung their head. None of them thought, ‘Oh man, this is over.’ They just went on a run, and it was always ‘we can get the next stop, and then we’re executing on offense,’ Rose coach Nola Henry said. “The only thing that matters is what’s right in front of you.”
Gray and Reese provided a steady diet of offense with their pick-and-roll actions. Reese was often under the basket, while Gray found space in the paint to take over the game. Brittney Sykes added 17 points in the Rose win.
“There was one play they found that was pretty successful for them,” Vinyl coach Teresa Weatherspoon said of the Gray-Reese connection. “What we did to even have ourselves back into the game, that’s something we can build off of.”
The Vinyl outscored the Rose 24-16 in the second quarter and 23-19 in the third quarter. But they ultimately fell flat in the final quarter, as the Rose took the game with a 13-6 advantage.
Rhyne Howard scored 24 points, while Dearica Hamby had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Vinyl in the loss.
Kayla McBride scored 30 points, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored 23 points and the game-winner in her first Unrivaled game on a player relief contract, and the Laces beat the Phantom 75-68 in the second game.
Unrivaled’s second half unofficially began Tuesday night. Four of the six teams will reach the playoff semifinals on March 16, and the final will be played on March 17.
Check out these highlights from Unrivaled’s games Tuesday night from USA TODAY Sports:
Unrivaled highlights
Unrivaled final score: Laces 75, Phantom 68
Kayla McBride scored 30 points, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton scored 23 points and the game-winner in her first Unrivaled game on a player relief contract, and the Laces beat the Phantom 75-68 in the second of two games Tuesday night.
Laney-Hamilton joined the league officially on Tuesday when she was named to the Laces’ roster. The Laces barely had five players active for the game.
Tiffany Hayes (concussion protocol), Kate Martin (left leg), Alyssa Thomas (right leg) and Jackie Young (left leg) did not play. The Laces also have Natisha Hiedeman and Kiki Jefferson signed to player-relief contracts due to injuries.
Sabrina Ionescu had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Satou Sabally scored 15 points and Brittney Griner had 14 points for the Phantom in the loss.
Unrivaled third quarter score: Laces 63, Phantom 59
Target winning score: 74
Kayla McBride had a steal and scored at the free throw line to finish the third quarter with 24 points, helping the Laces take a 63-59 lead into the fourth quarter. Satou Sabally has scored 15 points, while Sabrina Ionescu has 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Phantom.
The first team to reach 74 points will win.
Unrivaled halftime score: Laces 41, Phantom 37
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton has 11 points in her first Unrivaled game, and Kayla McBride has 10 points with six rebounds for the Laces, up 41-37 at halftime against the Phantom.
Sabrina Ionescu came alive with 10 points in the second quarter, along with nine total rebounds for the Phantom.
Unrivaled first quarter score: Laces 19, Phantom 13
Kayla McBride scored six points, and all five Laces players scored in the first quarter to fuel a 19-13 lead over the Phantom.
The Phantom’s Katie Lou Samuelson scored five points, while Brittney Griner had four points and Sabrina Ionescu had five rebounds in the first quarter.
Unrivaled final score: Rose 61, Vinyl 55
Chelsea Gray scored 26 points, Angel Reese had 16 points and 15 rebounds, and the Rose beat the Vinyl 61-55 in the first of two Unrivaled games on Tuesday night.
Gray scored the game-winning bucket, while Brittney Sykes added 17 points in the Rose win.
“We just needed a dub, and everybody contributed,” Gray said of the victory.
Rhyne Howard scored 24 points, while Dearica Hamby had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Vinyl in the loss.
Unrivaled third quarter score: Vinyl 49, Rose 48
Target winning score: 60
It’ll be a race to 60 points in the fourth quarter between the Vinyl and Rose.
Rhyne Howard leads all scorers with 24 points, and Dearica Hamby has 16 points with nine rebounds as the Vinyl leads 49-48 heading into the fourth quarter.
Chelsea Gray has 17 points, while Angel Reese has 14 points and 14 rebounds for the Rose.
Unrivaled halftime score: Rose 29, Vinyl 26
The Vinyl have turned it around, outscoring the Rose 24-16 in the second quarter, but still trail heading into halftime.
Rhyne Howard has 15 points for the Vinyl to lead all scorers, while Chelsea Gray has 11 points and Brittney Sykes has 10 points for the Rose.
Unrivaled first quarter score: Rose 13, Vinyl 2
Chelsea Gray has nine of the Rose’s 13 points, while the Vinyl shot 1 of 20 from the field in the first quarter. Even though the Rose lead, both teams combined to shoot 6 of 36 in the first quarter. Angel Reese already has six rebounds, while Azurá Stevens has five for the Rose.
How to watch Unrivaled games Tuesday night on TV
Unrivaled is available on cable television on TNT in the United States, and TSN+ in Canada.
Watch: Unrivaled games on Sling TV
How to live stream Unrivaled games on Tuesday night
Unrivaled games are also available to live stream on Max, and internationally on YouTube.
Unrivaled standings
Here are the Unrivaled standings heading into the second half of the season:
Lunar Owls (8-0)
Laces (4-3)
Rose (3-4)
Vinyl (3-4)
Phantom (2-5)
Mist (2-6)
Rose (3-4) vs. Vinyl (3-4) preview
The Rose hope to extend a two-game winning streak, while the Vinyl hope to break a four-game skid in tonight’s game.
Chelsea Gray leads Unrivaled with 44 assists, while Reese is first in offensive rebounds (3.1) and fourth in total rebounds per game (9.6) for the Rose. Kahleah Copper won’t be available for the Rose due to a right leg injury.
Dearica Hamby is Unrivaled’s third-leading scorer (21.2 points) and the fourth-leading rebounder (10.4), while Rhyne Howard (13.2 points) and Arike Ogunbowale (13.0) round out the Vinyl’s starting lineup.
Phantom (2-5) vs. Laces (4-3) preview
The Laces hope to have five players active for tonight’s game. Tiffany Hayes (concussion protocol), Kate Martin (left leg), Alyssa Thomas (right leg) are out for tonight’s game.
Kayla McBride is second in Unrivaled with 24.7 points, but questionable to play due to a left leg injury. Jackie Young is also questionable with a left leg injury. Stefanie Dolson is healthy and available.
The Laces have Natisha Hiedeman, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Kiki Jefferson signed to player-relief contracts. If McBride or Young play, Jefferson would not be eligible to play.
The Phantom hopes to snap a two-game skid behind its stars Ionescu, Brittney Griner and Satou Sabally. Ionescu had a breakout game for the Phantom on Jan. 31, where she had 38 points, nine rebounds and eight assists in the club’s last win against the Rose.
Napheesa Collier wins Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament
Napheesa Collier of the Lunar Owls won Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 tournament, taking home $200,000 after eliminating Aaliyah Edwards in the final. Collier’s Lunar Owls teammates each received $10,000 for her victory.
Edwards earned $50,000 as a runner-up, while Arike Ogunbowale and Azurá Stevens each earned $25,000 as semifinalists.
What is Unrivaled?
Six teams with 36 of the best women’s basketball players in the world, including Sabrina Ionescu and Brittney Griner, will compete in the 3-on-3, full court games.
Where is Unrivaled playing games?
Games will be played at Wayfair Arena in Medley, Florida, which is in the Miami metropolitan area, about 7 miles from Miami International Airport.
Unrivaled team names and rosters
Laces: Stefanie Dolson, Tiffany Hayes, Kate Martin, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, Jackie Young, Natisha Hiedeman (relief player contract), Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (relief player contract), Kiki Jefferson (relief player contract).
Lunar Owls: Shakira Austin, Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, Courtney Williams, Cameron Brink (IR).
Mist: DiJonai Carrington, Aaliyah Edwards, Rickea Jackson, Jewell Loyd, NaLyssa Smith (relief player contract), Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot.
Phantom: Natasha Cloud, Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Marina Mabrey, Satou Sabally, Katie Lou Samuelson.
Rose: Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Lexie Hull, Angel Reese, Azura Stevens, Brittney Sykes.
Vinyl: Aliyah Boston, Rae Burrell, Jordin Canada, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard, Arike Ogunbowale.
Unrivaled rules to know
Unrivaled games start with three seven-minute quarters, and games end when the target winning score is reached in the fourth quarter. The target winning score is 11 points higher than the highest team’s score after the third quarter, known as the Elam Ending.
Players also take just one free throw after being fouled: A free throw equals two or three points depending on the shooting foul.
How long is the Unrivaled court size? It is 72 feet long by 49.2 feet wide. NBA and WNBA courts are 94 feet long and 50 feet wide.
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