MEDLEY, Fla. — Unrivaled’s second weekend began Friday with two standouts dealing with injuries that raise concerns for the new women’s basketball league moving forward.
While Brittney Griner was able to play through a hip pointer to score the game-winning basket for the Phantom in the first game Friday, Laces standout Alyssa Thomas left the second game in the fourth quarter after suffering a right knee injury.
Thomas, of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, writhed in pain while clutching her knee, before she walked off the court with the help of a trainer. She will be re-evaluated Saturday morning, the league announced after the game.
Still, the Laces (3-0) were motivated to pull out an 83-79 victory over the Vinyl (2-1) for their injured teammate.
“You really just want to win for her,” Laces guard Kate Martin, of the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries, said of Thomas. “I’ve seen people call her ‘the engine.’ When your engine goes down, you have to find ways to pick up the missing piece there.”
Thomas had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Laces, while Kayla McBride scored the game-winning layup and finished with 22 points. Tiffany Hayes led the Laces with 26 points in the win.
“Our captain went down, and we had to get the win for her,” Hayes said after the game.
Griner may have caused some concern when she left the Unrivaled court several times during Friday’s first game. But she left no doubt with her final basket of the night. She scored 29 points to help the Phantom secure their first Unrivaled win of the season, 74-69 over the Mist.
Satou Sabally also scored 29 points, while Nastasha Cloud added nine assists as the Phantom played without star Sabrina Ionescu, who participated in promotional activities for the NBA Paris Games this week.
Phantom coach Adam Harrington is hopeful Griner can play in the Phantom’s second game of the weekend Saturday against the undefeated Lunar Owls (2-0).
“It took all of us,” Griner said after the win.
She was 14 of 18 from the field with nine rebounds. She also scored eight points in the final quarter.
While the Phantom improved to 1-2, the Mist fell to 0-3 despite Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart scoring 10 of her 27 points in the fourth quarter with 11 rebounds. Rickea Jackson also scored 24 points for the Mist in the loss.
Dearica Hamby led the Vinyl with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Rhyne Howard and Arike Ogunbowale each scored 16 points in the club’s first loss of the season.
Unrivaled’s second weekend continues Saturday when Angel Reese and the Rose face the Mist at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the Lunar Owls vs. Phantom at 7 p.m. ET (both on TruTV).
The weekend ends Monday when the Vinyl meets the Lunar Owls at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by the Rose vs. Laces at 8:30 p.m. ET (both on TNT).
Unrivaled highlights: Phantom vs. Mist
Unrivaled highlights: Laces vs. Vinyl
Unrivaled final score: Laces 83, Vinyl 79
Kayla McBride scored the game-winning layup, helping the Laces (3-0) stay undefeated with an 83-79 win over the Vinyl (2-1) in the second game.
McBride finished with 22 points, while Tiffany Hayes led the Laces with 26 points. Alyssa Thomas added 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Laces, but left the game in the fourth quarter after a right knee injury.
“Our captain went down, and we had to get the win for her,” Hayes said after the game.
Vinyl standout Rhyne Howard collided into Thomas while contesting for a rebound. Thomas was able to walk on her own back to the locker room.
Dearica Hamby led the Vinyl with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Howard and Arike Ogunbowale each scored 16 points for the Vinyl in the club’s first loss of the season.
Unrivaled score: Laces 71, Vinyl 60 after third quarter
Target winning score: 82
Tiffany Hayes has 24 points, Kayla McBride has 16 points, and Alyssa Thomas has 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Laces, who lead 71-60 after the third quarter.
Both teams must reach the target winning score of 82 points to secure victory.
Dearica Hamby has 16 points and seven rebounds, while Rhyne Howard has 13 points for the Vinyl.
Unrivaled halftime score: Laces 45, Vinyl 40 after second quarter
Tiffany Hayes is 4 of 5 from 3-point range with 16 points, Kayla McBride has 11 points, and the Laces lead 45-40 at halftime.
Dearica Hamby has 12 points, while Rhyne Howard has 10 points for the Vinyl, who trailed by as many as 14 points in the second quarter.
Unrivaled score: Laces 24, Vinyl 20 after first quarter
Kayla McBride has 11 points and the Laces have a 24-20 lead in the first quarter against the Vinyl.
Rhyne Howard has seven points, while Dearica Hamby has six points for the Vinyl.
Unrivaled final score: Phantom 74, Mist 69
Brittney Griner and Satou Sabally each scored 29 points, and Natasha Cloud added nine assists as the Phantom won its first Unrivaled game of the season in a 74-69 win over the Mist on Friday night.
Griner scored eight points, including the game-winning shot, in the final quarter. The Phantom played without star Sabrina Ionescu, who participated in promotional activities for the NBA Paris Games this week.
“It took all of us,” said Griner, who was 14 of 18 from the field and pulled down nine rebounds in the win.
Unrivaled co-founder Breanna Stewart scored 10 of her 27 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed 11 rebounds, but the Mist fell to 0-3.
Rickea Jackson also scored 24 points for the Mist in the loss.
Unrivaled score: Phantom 62, Mist 57 after third quarter
Target winning score: 73
Satou Sabally is up to 27 points, and the Phantom has gotten out in front of the Mist 62-57 heading into the fourth quarter. The first team to reach 73 points will win.
Unrivaled halftime score: Mist 41, Phantom 36 after second quarter
Rickea Jackson has 18 points, and Breanna Stewart has 13 points and seven rebounds as the Mist lead the Phantom 41-36 at halftime.
Satou Sabally also has 18 points, while Brittney Griner has 14 points for the Phantom.
Both clubs – vying for their first Unrivaled win of the season – were 14 of 32 from the field in the first half.
Unrivaled score: Mist 24, Phantom 20 after first quarter
Rickea Jackson has 11 points, and Breanna Stewart has nine points and three rebounds for the Mist, who got off to a fast start with a 13-3 run to start the game.
Satou Sabally has 10 points, while Brittney Griner has eight points for the Phantom, who responded with a 17-11 run after the first timeout.
How to watch Unrivaled on Friday night
Unrivaled is available on cable television on TNT in the United States, and TSN+ in Canada. It is also available to live stream on Max, YouTube and Sling TV.
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.
Phantom (0-2) vs. Mist (0-2) preview
The Phantom and Mist were each winless after their first Unrivaled weekend.
Satou Sabally is the second-leading scorer for Phantom (11.5 points per game) behind Ionescu (16.0). Phantom fell 86-48 to the Laces, then 84-69 to Vinyl last week.
Stewart is the league’s leading rebounder at 13.5 rebounds per game for Mist, which lost 84-80 to the Lunar Owls, then 63-43 to the Laces.
Along with Phantom and Mist, Rose is the other Unrivaled team with a 0-2 record after the first weekend.
Laces (2-0) vs. Vinyl (2-0) preview
McBride is second in Unrivaled with 24.5 points per game for the Laces, who beat Phantom and Mist last week.
Howard scored 33 points in Vinyl’s opener, the highest point total for an Unrivaled player last week. She’s third in the league, averaging 23.5 points. The Vinyl beat Rose 79-73 before beating Phantom last week.
Along with the Laces and Vinyl, the Lunar Owls (2-0) are the only other undefeated team in Unrivaled.
Unrivaled Week 2 games on Saturday and Monday
On Saturday, Mist will face Rose at 6 p.m. followed by Lunar Owls against Phantom at 7 p.m. on TruTV.
On Monday, Vinyl will meet the Lunar Owls at 7:30 p.m., followed by Rose and Laces at 8:30 p.m. on TNT.
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 are Unrivaled games played?
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.