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Laces may have already clinched an Unrivaled playoff spot, but they aren’t satisfied.
They beat Hive 76-61 on Tuesday, while Lunar Owls upset Breeze 75-70 to keep themselves in the running for a postseason spot.
Brittney Sykes had a dominant performance for Laces, scoring 27 points on 10-for-15 shooting. Her most impressive stretch happened from the end of the first quarter through the start of the second, when she scored 13-straight.
Jackie Young helped Sykes in the backcourt. She had 15 points. Alyssa Thomas played a complete game, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. For Hive, Sonia Citron led the way with 15 points, and Kelsey Mitchell was right behind her with 13 points.
In the first quarter, both teams traded baskets, and it was 12-12 with over three minutes left in the period. Natisha Hiedeman then scored, and the newest Hive Azurá Stevens player hit a 3 to give Hive a five-point lead.
After that, Laces came alive.
Naz Hillmon and Jordin Canada scored back-to-back baskets, and Sykes went on her own 5-0 run to give Laces a 21-17 lead heading into the second quarter. Sykes was far from done attacking Hive. Her offensive onslaught continued, scoring another eight unanswered, giving the Laces a double-digit lead.
Hiedeman ended Hive’s scoring drought with a layup, but they couldn’t close the gap significantly during the rest of the half. After two quarters of play, Laces were in front 44-34.
Skyes scored the first six points for the Laces in the third quarter, but Hive got baskets from Monique Billings, Citron and Mitchell to get back within single digits. The trio of Sykes, Thomas, and Young scored for Laces to make it a 14-point edge, but Hive wasn’t ready to give up as Stevens hit another 3-pointer, and Citron scored on a free throw. After a layup from Hiedeman, the Hive trailed 65-56 entering the fourth.
Thomas scored to put the Laces on the board first in the final quarter. Sykes scored again, giving them 69 points.
Then, Mitchell hit a 3 and Citron finished strong inside to make it a single-digit game again. Thomas responded by scoring on a Young assist, and then Young went on her own five-point flurry to end the game and earn the win for the Laces.
Lunar Owls get win No. 3 over Breeze
Dominque Malonga didn’t get the win for Breeze, but it wasn’t from a lack of trying. She had 29 points, only missed three shots—and had another dunk.
Paige Bueckers struggled shooting early on, but still ended the game with 19 points. Lunar Owls led for most of the game, and Aaliyah Edwards and Skylar Diggins combined for 47 points in their win. Rachel Banham also scored 12 points solely from 3-pointers to help Owls take down Breeze.
It was the battle of the bigs early on, as Edwards had eight points and Malonga had six while the game was even at 10. The rest of the period was all Lunar Owls. Banham hit a pair of 3-pointers as Owls outscored Breeze 14-4 the rest of the way.
Malonga got to work immediately in the second quarter, scoring the first six points for Breeze, forcing Lunar Owls to call a timeout. When play resumed, Edwards scored inside to put Owls on the board. Diggins then got hot and went on a 6-0 run of her own to give Lunar Owls a 32-25 lead. Banham hit another basket from deep, and Edwards kept scoring inside to make it a 10-point game.
New Breeze Courtney Williams scored four-straight to end the quarter, and at the half, Lunar Owls were in front 39-36.
Similar to the second quarter, the third began with Malonga scoring. She had the first points for the Breeze in the second half.
But Banham kept her hot streak from deep going with another 3, keeping the Lunar Owls ahead by seven points midway through the third. Soon after, Breeze got a 3 from Williams and a make from Kate Martin, and suddenly it was a one-possession game.
Edwards responded with a basket for Lunar Owls, and they went on an 8-0 run to give themselves some breathing room. The intensity still remained high, and Martin had some words for Diggins, which earned her a technical foul.
Breeze were down but not out, trailing by 10 points, 64-54, entering the fourth. Malonga once again came out scoring, including another dunk that got the crowd going in the closing quarter.
Bueckers added three more points, and Breeze were down by just eight points. Edwards was fouled on the other end of the floor and made her free throw to put Owls within four points of the winning score. Malonga scored again, and Williams had another make on a fastbreak to make it a 71-65 game. However, Diggins scored on a free throw to put Lunar Owls within two of the winning score.
But another Malonga basket followed by 3 by the big, had the Breeze on the verge of the big comeback.
Unfortunately for Breeze, Owls had the ball, and Marina Mabrey ended it with a driving layup.
With just a handful of games, the playoff picture is far from clear, but Laces are now the top team while Lunar Owls at least gave themselves a shot at making it into the top six.
