Unrivaled tipped off on Monday — and saw 48 players of the WNBA’s top players compete in full-court 3-on-3 basketball. Chelsea Gray dropped 35 points and 8 assists to lead the defending champion Rose club to victory, while Paige Bueckers posted 24 points and 6 assists in her Unrivaled debut, leading the Hive to a win. Plus, Allisha Gray (Mist Club) and Brittney Sykes (Laces Club) both had strong showings in wins.
3 WNBA players injured ahead of Unrivaled’s second day of action
Brittney Griner, Aari McDonald and Kahleah Copper are all sidelined as Unrivaled gears up for its second day of action.
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Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
4 Unrivaled clubs set to face off on Friday night
On Friday night, four clubs will compete again; the Vinyl face the Rose at 7:30 pm, and the Breeze face the Hive at 8:45 pm. All of the action will be broadcast on TNT and TruTV, and is part of the second season of Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart’s Miami-based professional women’s basketball league.
The Vinyl (0-1) — led by Courtney Williams, Rhyne Howard, Dearica Hamby, Erica Wheeler, and Rae Burrell — will be without Brittney Griner, who is sidelined with a right lower extremity (Unrivaled does not share specific details of injuries). The Vinyl lost their first game of the season, 58-42 to the Laces, and will look to get their first win of the season on Friday.
The Rose (1-0) — led by Chelsea Gray, Azurá Stevens, Lexie Hull, Shakira Austin, and Sug Sutton — will be without Kahleah Copper, who is out with a right lower extremity injury. The Rose beat the Lunar Owls 80-62 en route to their first win of the year.
The Hive (0-1) — led by Kelsey Mitchell, Sonia Citron, Ezi Magbegor, Natisha Hiedeman, Saniya Rivers, and Monique Billings — is injury-free entering the second game of the season. The Hive fell to the Mist 72-56 en route to their first loss of the season.
And, the Breeze (1-0) — led by Paige Bueckers, Rickea Jackson, Dominique Malonga, Kate Martin, and Cameron Brink — will be without Aari McDonald, who hurt her right leg in the season’s opening game. The Breeze began the year with a 69-62 win over the Phantom.
Unrivaled teams can leverage the developmental pool, if needed
If injuries pile up, teams can tap into Unrivaled’s developmental pool for additional bodies, which includes Chicago Sky guard Hailey Van Lith, Dallas Wings guards Aziaha James and Haley Jones, Washington Mystics forward Emily Engstler, Golden State Valkyries forward Laeticia Amihere, Indiana Fever forward Makayla Timpson, and former WNBA guard Kiana Williams.
These younger players are all in Miami for the summer and training at the Unrivaled facilities, but won’t be assigned to actual clubs unless injuries pile up. With clubs still largely healthy, that has yet to happen in Week One.
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