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The class of Unrivaled certified their status to close out Week 6.
On Monday night, second-place Rose gutted out a 58-53 win over Laces to clinch their spot in the four-team playoff field, while league-leading Lunar Owls cruised past Phantom, 92-79, eliminating the Ghost Gang from playoff contention.
Laces’ loss also shook up the race for the final two playoff spots. With Laces, Vinyl and Mist all owning 5-7 records, Vinyl currently has the tiebreak advantage, putting them in third place. Mist sits in fourth place, leaving Laces, at least for the moment, outside of the playoffs. That’s certain to change in the season’s final week. But first, here’s what happened on Monday night:
Chelsea Gray clinches playoffs for Rose
This battle for second place was appropriately gritty.
After Laces streaked out to an early advantage, Rose worked their way back into the contest by the end of the first quarter, with Ariel Atkins hitting a shot just before the period ended to knot the game at 17-17. Things remained tight throughout the second, with Rose entering the half up 31-30. A similar script played out throughout the third, although a late bucket from Chelsea Gray gave Rose a little more breathing room ahead of the untimed fourth quarter, with the 47-44 score setting the winning score at 58 points. It also presaged how the final period would play out.
But first, Tiffany Hayes opened the final frame with two-straight scores to put Laces on top. Gray then responded with a basket before Hayes matched it, keeping Laces up 50-49. After several empty possessions on both sides, Gray scored, assisted an Angel Reese basket and then drained a 3-pointer. Point Gawd-mode activated!
With Rose up 56-50, just a 2-pointer away from the winning score, Kayla McBride threatened to makes things interesting with a 3-pointer. However, Gray closed the door on that possibility, sinking one of her signature midrangers to seal the 58-53 win—and a playoff berth—for Rose.
The game-winner gave Gray a game-high 26 points, in addition to seven assists, further situating her for an All-Unrivaled end-of-season honor. Reese, once again, was all over the glass, grabbing 17 rebounds to go with her 16 points. Rose remained without both Kahleah Copper and Azurá Stevens, both of whom are nursing injuries.
McBride led Laces with 20 points, with Hayes adding 13. Alyssa Thomas, back in full Engine form after her extended injury absence, finished with 12 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists. Kate Martin is still sidelined indefinitely for Laces, while Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who played two games for the club, is out for the Unrivaled season with an injury.
Lunar Owls soar past Phantom in second half
On Monday afternoon, it was announced that Sabrina Ionescu’s Unrivaled season is over, as the Phantom guard is obligated to tend to prior commitments. In turn, relief player Natisha Hiedeman was assigned to Phantom. Marina Mabrey also was active for the first time this season for the Ghost Gang.
The new(ish)-look Phantom started strong against Lunar Owls, with Brittney Griner, who already has a first-quarter dunk, hitting a triple to end the first quarter and give Phantom a 26-18 edge. They maintained control through the early minutes of the second, with Mabrey’s first Unrivaled points helping Phantom keep a 30-23 lead.
Soon after that, Lunar Owls, fueled by Skylar Diggins-Smith, began to come alive. A 10-point scoring spurt from SDS tied the game at 38. Then, eight points from Napheesa Collier and a pair of 3s from Allisha Gray totally flipped the game, putting Lunar Owls up 52-43 at the half.
Phantom was done, as it was all Owls in the second half; they ran away for the 92-79 win.
The trio of Collier, Diggins-Smith and Gray were characteristically dominant. Collier added to her surefire MVP case with a 33-point and 12-rebound double-double. Diggins-Smith tallied her own double-double with 25 points and 11 assists, strengthening her bid for an All-Unrivaled nod. Gray added 23 points.
Satou Sabally led Phantom with 21 points, while Hiedeman did all she could for her new squad, going 6-for-7 from 3 as she scored 20 points. Griner finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
The final two regular-season games are irrelevant for both of these clubs, albeit for vastly different reasons. While Lunar Owls have clinched the top-seed in the playoffs, Phantom’s postseason hopes have disappeared. However, it’s hard to imagine Owls easing their way into the playoffs, especially with a rematch with Rose, the club responsible for their lone loss, scheduled for Friday. We’ll see if Phantom can muster a similarly spirited effort, salvaging a more-respectable record with another win or two in the season’s final week.
