MEDLEY, Fla. — Napheesa Collier has not just co-founded the new Unrivaled league. She’s dominating the competition.
Collier set single-game Unrivaled records with 37 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Lunar Owls to an 82-58 win in the second of two games on Saturday night at Wayfair Arena.
“We come in, wanting to win,” Collier said in a postgame interview.
Collier is Unrivaled’s leading scorer, averaging 31.7 points through her team’s first three games. She scored 27 in the opener and 31 points in the second game last weekend. She also averages 11.7 rebounds, trailing only fellow league co-founder Breanna Stewart (11.8).
“She’s an Olympian. She invokes her will,” Brittney Griner said after facing Collier, her Olympic 5-on-5 teammate in Tokyo and Paris.
“Wherever she’s playing, she’s one action to the next. She’s going to make her teammates better. She’s a pro. With somebody like that, you just want to try to make it tough for her, make it hard for her. Looking at the box score, I probably could have done a damn sure a better job at that tonight.”
Allisha Gray scored the game-deciding bucket to finish with 21 points, and Skylar Diggins-Smith finished with 16 points for the Lunar Owls, who improved to 3-0 after their first three games in league play.
The Lunar Owls will play again on Monday night against the Vinyl (2-1), while the Rose (1-2) will face the Laces (3-0) to end the 3-on-3 women’s basketball league’s second weekend.
Satou Sabally led the Phantom with 19 points, while Natisha Hiedeman finished with 18 points, and Griner had 10 points and five rebounds. The Phantom won their first game Friday, but fell to 1-3 on the season.
Lexie Hull scored 19 points, Kahleah Copper scored 18, and Chelsea Gray scored the game-winning bucket to help the Rose beat the Mist 71-66 in the first game Saturday night.
Azurá Stevens added 16 points and seven rebounds, while Gray also had seven rebounds and six assists in the Rose’s first win of the Unrivaled season.
“We needed a win. We needed to get it done,” Gray said after the game.
The Mist, however, are winless after the first two weeks of Unrivaled play. Stewart had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Mist, who fell to 0-4.
Heat star Jimmy Butler, U.S. Olympian Gabby Thomas, and former NBA star John Wall were in attendance for the games Saturday night.
Check out these highlights from Saturday’s Unrivaled games at Wayfair Arena:
Unrivaled highlights: Lunar Owls vs. Phantom
Unrivaled highlights: Mist vs. Rose
Unrivaled final score: Lunar Owls 82, Phantom 58
Napheesa Collier scored an Unrivaled-high 37 points with 18 rebounds, and Allisha Gray scored the game-deciding bucket to finish with 21 points as the Lunar Owls beat the Phantom 82-58 in the second game Saturday night.
“We come in, wanting to win,” Collier said after the game.
Skylar Diggins-Smith finished with 16 points for the Lunar Owls, who improved to 3-0 after their first three games in league play.
Satou Sabally led the Phantom with 19 points, while Natisha Hiedeman finished with 18 points, and Brittney Griner had 10 points and five rebounds. The Phantom won their first game Friday, but fell to 1-3 on the season.
Unrivaled score: Lunar Owls 71, Phantom 51 after third quarter
Target winning score: 82
Napheesa Collier has 29 points and 15 rebounds, and the Lunar Owls are 11 points away from a 3-0 start in Unrivaled. The target winning score is 82 points. Allisha Gray has 18 points, while Skylar Diggins-Smith has 16 points for the Lunar Owls, who lead by 20 points after the third quarter.
Satou Sabally leads the Phantom with 19 points, while Natisha Hiedeman has 11 points, and Brittney Griner has 10 points and five rebounds.
Unrivaled halftime score: Lunar Owls 46, Phantom 37 after second quarter
Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Allisha Gray each have 14 points, and the Lunar Owls lead 46-37 at the end of the second quarter.
Collier also has 12 rebounds for the Lunar Owls, hoping to stay undefeated in their third game.
Satou Sabally has 12 points to lead the Phantom (1-2).
Unrivaled score: Lunar Owls 23, Phantom 11 after first quarter
Napheesa Collier has nine points and nine rebounds in the first quarter, while Skylar Diggins-Smith has eight points and Allisha Gray has six points for the Lunar Owls, up 23-11 after the first quarter.
Katie Lou Samuelson has seven points for the Phantom, while Brittney Griner and Natasha Cloud have started a combined 0-7 from the field.
Unrivaled final score: Rose 71, Mist 66
Lexie Hull scored 19 points, Kahleah Copper had 18, and Chelsea Gray scored the game-winning bucket to help the Rose beat the Mist 71-66 in the first game Saturday night.
Azurá Stevens added 16 points and seven rebounds, while Gray also had seven rebounds and six assists in the Rose’s first win of the Unrivaled season.
“We needed a win. We needed to get it done,” Gray said after the game.
The Mist, however, are winless after the first two weeks of Unrivaled play. League co-founder Breanna Stewart had 20 points and nine rebounds for the Mist, who fell to 0-4.
Unrivaled score: Rose 60, Mist 58 after third quarter
Target score: 71
The Rose or Mist are one quarter away from their first win of the season: The target winning score of 71 points must be reached to secure a victory.
Lexie Hull has 19 points and Kahleah Copper has 18 points for the Rose, while Breanna Stewart leads all scorers with 20 points for the Mist.
Unrivaled halftime score: Rose 40, Mist 34 after second quarter
Lexie Hull has 15 points, Kahleah Copper has 11 points, and Chelsea Gray has seven rebounds and five assists for the Rose, up 40-34 on the Mist after the first half.
Breanna Stewart has 14 points and five rebounds for the Mist, while Jewell Loyd and Aaliyah Edwards each have six points.
Unrivaled score: Rose 22, Mist 19 after first quarter
It’s a back-and-forth affair to start this game between the Rose and Mist.
Lexie Hull has eight points, and Kahleah Copper has seven points for the Rose, while Breanna Stewart has 10 points for the Mist in the first quarter.
How to watch Unrivaled games on TV Saturday night
Unrivaled is available on cable television on TruTV in the United States, and TSN+ in Canada.
How to live stream Unrivaled games on Saturday night
Unrivaled games are also available to live stream on Max, and internationally on YouTube.
Mist (0-3) vs. Rose (0-2) preview
Stewart had 27 points and 11 rebounds, Rickea Jackson added 24 points, but the Mist fell 74-69 to the Phantom on Friday night to fall to 0-3. They hope to avoid two winless weekends.
Kaleah Cooper (19.0) and Chelsea Gray (17.5) are the leading scorers for Rose, while Reese averages 10 rebounds through the first two games. The Vinyl and Lunar Owls beat Rose last weekend.
Lunar Owls (2-0) vs. Phantom (1-2) preview
Collier is Unrivaled’s leading scorer averaging 29.0 points from the Lunar Owls’ first two games, wins against the Mist and Rose last week.
Griner and Sabally each scored 29 points to help Phantom get its first win of the season against the Mist on Friday night. Griner was able to play through a hip pointer to score the game-winning basket. She’ll play on Saturday.
Alyssa Thomas has knee injury at Unrivaled Friday night
Alyssa Thomas, of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, has a right knee injury after leaving the Laces’ win in the second game Friday. The Laces return to action Monday.
Sabrina Ionescu not playing Unrivaled games in Week 2
WNBA champion Sabrina Ionescu won’t be available for Phantom, after participating in promotional activities during NBA Paris Games this week.
Unrivaled Week 2 games on Monday
The second weekend of Unrivaled games ends Monday on TNT:
Vinyl vs. Lunar Owls at 7:30 p.m.
Rose vs. Laces, 8:30 p.m.
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 3-on-3, full court games for the next nine weeks.
Where is Unrivaled playing games?
Games will be played at Wayfair Arena in Medley, Fla., 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.
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, Natisha Hiedeman (relief player contract), 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.
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