AU Pro Basketball: Maddy Siegrist has been the season’s best

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Season 4 of Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball already has arrived at its final week of action.

In Week 3, familiar faces again flexed their excellence, headlined by Maddy Siegrist. After tallying the most points in Week 3 with 2029, she tops the season-long AU Leaderboard with 5496 points, a 363-point lead over second-place Odyssey Sims. So, Siegrist will be a captain for a fourth time the season, joined by Sims, Crystal Bradford and Ty Harris, all of whom will be serving their second stint as captains.

For Week 4, AU named captains based on the season-long, rather than weekly, Leaderboard. That allowed Bradford and Harris to earn the honors over Shey Peddy and Alysha Clark, who finished in third and fourth, respectively, in Week 3 points behind Siegrist and Sims.

Week 4 begins on Thursday, Feb. 27, with Team Bradford taking on Team Sims (6 p.m. ET), followed by Team Siegrist meeting Team Harris (8:30 p.m. ET). Both games will be available through the WNBA App or FanDuel Sports Network.

Here’s a look back at what went down in Week 3, as well as what to expect in Season 4’s home stretch:

Siegrist scores, Bradford boards in Week 3

No team finished Week 3 undefeated, with Team Siegrist besting Team Sims, which entered the contest 2-0, in the week’s final game. While things started in Team Sims’ favor, Team Siegrist steadily came back until charging ahead in the final frame for a 84-76 win. Named MVP 1, Siegrist led her squad with 29 points and nine boards. Earlier in the week, Siegrist also scored stupendously, dropping 35 points and claiming MVP 1 in her team’s first game, a win over Team Harrison, and putting in 23 points in their loss to Team Caldwell, when she still was named MVP 3. Siegrist leads the league in MVP points with 630 on the season, headlined by the dominant 450 points she has earned for MVP 1s.

While Siegrist took care of much of her team’s scoring during their 2-1 week, Crystal Bradford was all over the boards. She has been a menace on the boards throughout the AU season, exemplified by the 17 rebounds she pulled down in Team Siegrist’s first game of the week. She’s leading the league with 12 boards per contest. And, it’s safe to say that, “Boardwoman gets paid,” as Bradford has earned a training camp contract from the Las Vegas Aces.

Although her side was denied an undefeated week by Team Siegrist, Odyssey Sims put together another week of eye-popping performances, scoring at least 20 points in all three games, collecting a MVP 1 and MVP 2 honor for her efforts. Her expertise in getting to the line, in particular, continues to work as her not-so-secret weapon. For the season, she has earned 580 points for made free throws, nearly double second-place Kia Nurse.

Ty Harris’ area of expertise is behind the arc. The league-leader in points from 3-pointers made with 480, she netted eight triples as a member of Team Caldwell last week. Her sharpshooting helped her earn a pair of MVP 3 nominations during Week 3.

The full results from Week 3 were:

Wednesday, February 19

Team Siegrist 98, Team Harrison 80

Team Sims 73, Team Caldwell 64

Thursday, February 20

Team Caldwell 82, Team Siegrist 72

Team Sims 84, Team Harrison 81

Sunday, February 23

Team Caldwell 82, Team Harrison 79

Team Siegrist 84, Team Sims 76

Who’s playing for who in Week 4

Captains Siegrist (Gold), Sims (Orange), Bradford (Blue) and Harris (Purple) selected their squads for the season’s final week. Here’s how the teams shook out for Week 4:

Team Siegrist (Gold): Maddy Siegrist, Bria Hartley, Elizabeth Williams, Taj Cole, Sequoia Holmes, Theresa Plaisance, Christyn Williams, McKenzie Forbes, Kaitlyn Davis

Team Sims (Orange): Odyssey Sims, Isabelle Harrison, Alysha Clark, Kia Nurse, Jaylyn Sherrod, Asia Taylor, Taylor Mikesell, Kenisha Bell, Suriya McGuire

Team Bradford (Blue): Crystal Bradford, Evina Westbrook, Lexie Brown, Shey Peddy, G’mrice Davis, Kierstan Bell, Lydia Rivers, Dyaisha Fair, Angel Jackson

Team Harris (Purple): Ty Harris, Maya Caldwell, Sydney Colson, Alissa Pili, Dorie Harrison, Rebecca Harris, Kiara Leslie, Desi-Rae Young, Jude Schimmel, Charisma Osborne

Barring something absolutely crazy, the race for AU Season 4 Champion likely comes down to Siegrist and Sims. Which captain did a better job of situating herself to rack up more points and secure to the league’s top honor?

Both players surrounded themselves with sharp shooters, as well as bigs who can board and block. Siegrist grabbed Bria Hartley, who is fourth overall in points from 3-pointers made and third overall in assist points, with her first selection before nabbing Elizabeth Williams, AU’s best shot blocker who also has been a beast on the boards. Sims’ first pick, Isabelle Harrison, also has been all over the glass, while her second selection, Alysha Clark, is coming off her best week of the season. Kia Nurse gives Team Sims even more fearless 3-point shooting, as she is second in the league in points from made 3s.

And, it could all come down the season’s final game, when Team Siegrist and Team Sims face off.

When and how to watch Week 4

Be sure to soak up the final week of AU action on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

Thursday, February 27

Team Bradford vs. Team Sims (6 p.m. ET, WNBA App/FanDuel Sports Network)

Team Siegrist vs. Team Harrison (8:30 p.m. ET, WNBA App/FanDuel Sports Network)