Latest news with #FirstTeamAll-Unrivaled
USA Today
16-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Unrivaled playoffs live updates: Rose-Laces, Lunar Owls-Vinyl in semifinals tonight
Unrivaled playoffs live updates: Rose-Laces, Lunar Owls-Vinyl in semifinals tonight Show Caption Hide Caption Sabrina Ionescu talks championships, Unrivaled and NBA All-Star Sabrina Ionescu joins Lorenzo Reyes to talk WNBA and Michelob Ultra MEDLEY, Fla. — The Unrivaled women's basketball league postseason begins Sunday night with two semifinal games to decide which clubs will play for the inaugural championship title. Chelsea Gray and the No. 2 seed Rose will play without Unrivaled defensive player of the year Angel Reese (hand) against Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas and the No. 3 Laces in the first seminal game. Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Alisha Gray and the No. 1 seed Lunar Owls will face Rhyne Howard, Dearica Hamby and the No. 4 seed Vinyl in the second seminal. The winners of both games will advance to the Unrivaled championship game Monday night. Each player on the championship club will earn $50,000. Here's everything you need to know about the Unrivaled playoffs Sunday night: The Rose and Laces will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, while the Lunar Owls and Vinyl will begin at 8:30 p.m. Unrivaled games are available on TNT and TruTV, and available to live stream on Max in the United States. The Unrivaled title game will be on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. Reese, of the WNBA's Chicago Sky, won't play in Sunday's game for the Rose after injuring her surgically-repaired left hand during the Unrivaled regular-season finale last Monday. It's unclear whether she would be available to play if the Rose advance to the championship game. Reese did appear to participate in some capacity during Rose practice while wearing a brace. The Rose won the season series 2-1, but they've seen three different versions of the Laces this season. Now, the Laces will see a different version of the Rose without Reese in action. The Laces are led by Kayla McBride and Alyssa Thomas, while Jackie Young (illness) is questionable to play. The Rose will be led by Chelsea Gray, Azura Stevens and Lexie Hull. The Lunar Owls started the season 8-0 before their only defeat to the Rose on Feb. 21. They have been Unrivaled's best team with a 13-1 record, and the highest scoring offense in the league (80.7 ppg). The Vinyl has two of the Top 5 Unrivaled scorers in Rhyne Howard (20.5 ppg) and Dearica Hamby (19.9 ppg), while Arike Ogunbowale has averaged 14.8 points in her last four games since returning from a leg injury. Unrivaled end of season awards Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray and Kayla McBride were named First Team All-Unrivaled, while Rhyne Howard, Angel Reese and Skylar Diggins-Smith were named Second-Team All-Unrivaled on Thursday. Lunar Owls coach DJ Sackmann won Unrivaled Coach of the Year on Friday. Reese earned Unrivaled Defensive Player of the Year honors on Saturday. The Unrivaled Most Valuable Player award will be announced on Sunday with Collier as a favorite to win.
USA Today
13-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray and Kayla McBride named to All-Unrivaled first team
Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray and Kayla McBride named to All-Unrivaled first team Show Caption Hide Caption Sabrina Ionescu explains Unrivaled league provides new opportunities in women's basketball New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu explains Unrivaled, a new league founded by WNBA players, provides opportunities for players to continue to better themselves. MEDLEY, Fla. — Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray and Kayla McBride were named First Team All-Unrivaled, while Rhyne Howard, Angel Reese and Skylar Diggins-Smith were named Second-Team All-Unrivaled on Thursday as the women's basketball league approaches the final weekend of its inaugural season. Collier – a league co-founder with Breanna Stewart of the Mist – led the No. 1 seed Lunar Owls to a 13-1 record during the regular season while leading the league in scoring at 25.7 points, 2.0 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. Collier is also a favorite to win Unrivaled MVP, and a frontrunner for Unrivaled defensive player of the year. Both awards, along with the Unrivaled coach of the year award, will be announced later this week. McBride was Unrivaled's second-leading scorer at 22.2 points per game for the Laces, who finished a 7-7 record and the No. 3 seed in the postseason. Gray led Unrivaled with six game-winning shots and 5.4 assists per game, while her 21.3 points was third in the league for the Rose. Gray and Reese were instrumental in the Rose's five-game winning streak after a 1-4 start, securing the No. 2 seed in the Unrivaled playoffs with an 8-6 record. Reese's second-team honors comes as she was one of three players (along with Collier and Stewart) to average a double-double during the Unrivaled season. Reese averaged 13.1 points, but led the league with 12.1 rebounds per game. She also produced the first 20-20 game in Unrivaled history, when she had 22 points and 21 rebounds against the Lunar Owls on Feb. 21. Howard was fourth in Unrivaled scoring with 20.5 points per game, while being in the Top 5 in steals and blocks, helping the Vinyl secure the fourth and final playoff spot. Diggins-Smith, also of the Lunar Owls, is second in Unrivaled with five-game winning shots, 4.8 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while her 17.9 points ranked ninth in the league. Along with Collier and Allisha Gray, Diggins-Smith helped form arguably the best starting lineup in Unrivaled's first season. Four of the six Unrivaled teams were represented in the first- and second-team awards – the Mist and Phantom did not have a representative. Unrivaled players, head coaches and assistant coaches, along with 19 media members submitted votes for All-Unrivaled teams. The voted were weighted: The players' vote was 40%, coaches 35% and media 25%. The Unrivaled two-day postseason begins Monday with two semifinal games: The Rose will face the Laces in the first game at 7:30 p.m., while the Lunar Owls will face the Vinyl in the second game. The semifinal winners will advance to the Unrivaled championship game Tuesday. The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
