Unrivaled: Epic semifinals set up a Rose vs. Vinyl championship game

The Point Gawd nearly dropped a 40-ball. Lunar Owls are out.

Unrivaled served up an epic March Madness appetizer during Sunday night’s semifinals, as Rose, fueled by an Unrivaled-record 39 points from Chelsea Gray, defeated Laces, 63-57, before Vinyl engineered a 10-point fourth-quarter comeback to take down Lunar Owls, 73-70.

Now, Rose and Vinyl will take the court on Monday night at 7:30 p.m. ET to contend for the first Unrivaled championship—and the $50,000 per player prize. Here’s how it happened:

Gray leads Rose into final with a legendary performance

The first semifinal game between No. 2-seed Rose and No. 3-seed Laces began with Chelsea Gray splashing in a pull-up 3-pointer. The shot would be a sign of things to come.

Rose, without the services of Angel Reese and Kahleah Copper, would be heavily dependent on Gray, and she was more than ready to deliver—and then some, as no other member of Rose would score in double figures. On top of that, Rose also was incorporating two new relief players in Natisha Hiedeman and Naz Hillmon. While Hiedeman would see just a minute of action, Hillmon emerged as a crucial piece, forming instant chemistry with Gray as an eager screener who was active in fighting for boards and loose balls.

As halftime approached, it looked like Rose’s adverse circumstances would be too much to overcome. With just under five minutes to go in the second, Rose trailed Laces by one point, 20-19; by the break, it was 40-27, a 13-point deficit. Alyssa Thomas’ brand of bully ball was the driving force for Laces, complemented by the shotmaking of Tiffany Hayes. A cold first half from Kayla McBride likely gave Laces further confidence in their position after two quarters, as they had achieved a comfortable advantage without significant scoring contributions from Unrivaled’s second-leading scorer.

Or not. By the end of the third quarter, Rose had trimmed Laces’ lead to just two points, 52-50. Hillmon scored six of her eight points in the period, while Azurá Stevens scored half of her eights points in the frame and Lexie Hull netted her lone 2-point free throw. Those points, which chipped away at the margin, set the stage for Gray to go full Point Gawd mode. Beginning at the midpoint of third, Gray would score 21-straight points for Rose, a streak that would extend into the untimed fourth quarter.

The final frame began with two-straight Gray buckets to give Rose the lead before McBride responded with a triple, which Gray instantly answered with another basket. She then connected with Hillmon on an easy score at the hoop that was quickly followed by a Brittney Sykes steal-and-score that put Rose three points away from the winning score of 63. After a McBride free throw, Gray was ready to call game, creating enough separation for a top-of-the-key pull-up 3 that she drained, waving goodbye to Laces and sending Rose into the final.

Gray finished with four assists to go along with her record 39 points, while Hillmon had three steals and four boards in addition to her eight points. Stevens led the game with 11 rebounds. For Laces, who were without Jackie Young due to illness, Thomas had a team-best 20 points and seven rebounds. Hayes added 16 points and McBride 12, while Ariel Atkins, who rejoined the club as a relief player, contributed nine points.

Vinyl accomplishes the impossible

No. 4-seed Vinyl accomplished what was thought to be impossible, eliminating No. 1-seed Lunar Owls and newly-minted Unrivaled MVP Napheesa Collier. Arguably Unrivaled’s most frustrating, inconsistent club, Vinyl saved their best performance for the biggest stage, not just defeating the indomitable Owls but doing so via a 10-point fourth quarter comeback.

When Courtney Williams began dropping in middies for Lunar Owls in the latter minutes of the first quarter, it seemed like the league leaders might take care of Vinyl in quick fashion. However, a late-first quarter 3 from Rae Burrell followed by an early-second quarter triple from Rhyne Howard had Vinyl right back in the game, 17-15. From there, both sides engaged in a shotmaking showcase in the second, with nearly every bucket met with a response from the opponent. After back-to-back baskets by Napheesa Collier appeared to give Lunar Owls a five-point halftime lead, 38-33, the half closed with Jordin Canada fighting for a tough layup, making it 38-35 at the break.

In the third, it again looked like Owls were poised to put away Vinyl, with Collier showing why she was the league’s regular-season MVP. With just over three minutes left in the period, Collier had Lunar Owls up by 10, the advantage they would take into the untimed fourth quarter. At 62-52, with the winning score set at 73, Owls seemed almost assured to earn the victory and a berth in the final.

Vinyl, however, had other plans. Rhyne Howard, playing with the kind of engagement and intensity that makes her look like one of the best players in the world, scored six early points for Vinyl, cutting their deficit to five points, 64-59. A bucket from Canada, who likewise was playing with some extra oomph, then made it, 64-61. Collier responded with a score only for Canada to hit a 3, which Collier answered with another 2-pointer, keeping the Owls up by four points, and five points away from the winning score, 68-64. Any sense of comfort for Lunar Owls was quickly erased, as a score from Hamby and another triple from Canada gave Vinyl the 69-68 lead. A Collier 2-pointer put Owls back on top until Canada converted a free throw to inch Vinyl back ahead 71-70—and just two points away from victory.

Skylar Diggins-Smith first went for the win, missing a 3-pointer for Lunar Owls that was rebounded by Hamby. She fired a pass to Howard who hoisted a triple that missed but was corralled by Hamby. She missed the putback, grabbed yet another board and then finished it off. Comeback complete. Upset accomplished. Championship berth secured.

Those late, critical boards gave Hamby 15 in the game; she also scored 16 points for the double-double. Overall, Vinyl outrebounded Lunar Owls 39-30, with Vinyl’s 12 offensive rebounds, in particular, earning them extra scoring opportunities that helped them overcome Owls’ superior shooting from the field. Howard finished with 23 points, six assists and five rebounds, while Canada contributed an absolutely critical 21 points, including going 3-for-4 from 3.

Collier did all she could to carry Lunar Owls, tallying 36 points and eight boards. Williams stepped up with 13 points in 13 off-the-bench minutes, but quieter nights from Diggins-Smith and Allisha Gray, who had 10 and 11 points, respectively, sapped Lunar Owls of the extra scoring juice needed to hold off a hungry Vinyl. In addition to their trouble on the boards, Lunar Owls was not successful in turning Vinyl over, preventing the club from getting the speedy transition scores that drove much of their regular-season success. Owls also probably wish that they had been more aggressive from behind the arc, as a 9-for-15 night from 3 suggests they might have left some extra points behind the line.

Lunar Owls’ loss, however, is a net gain for the inaugural Unrivaled playoffs, proving the value of the single-elimination format and setting up a championship final between Rose and Vinyl where, based on the semifinals’ results, anything can happen.