Friday night, January 17, 2025, saw the birth of a new basketball league, Unrivaled, a 3X3 league, playing at Wayfair Arena in Miami, Florida. The league is the child of WNBA stars Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty, and Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx.
Collier and Stewart met as students at the University of Connecticut. Collier was a freshman and Stewart a senior, and together they won the NCAA Women’s Basketball title in 2016.
Unrivaled is a different brand of 3X3. Rather than the Olympic and FIBA 3X3 half-court, they play on a scaled-down full-court, giving the feel of a regular game. It is anything but. From the tip-off, fans were introduced to a highly fast-paced game comprised of four quarters. The first three are seven minutes, with the final quarter having unlimited, uninterrupted time.
The score after three quarters is significant because whichever team is ahead must score 11 additional points for the win. So if the score is 55 – 67, for example, the winning score will be 78, which means the team trailing will have a bigger deficit to win.
Unrivaled Showcased Superstars in the Inaugural Game
The inaugural game featured Collier’s Lunar Owls and Stewart’s Mist. The Lunar Owls feature Collier, Courtney Williams, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, Shakira Austin, and Cameron Brink, who is still recovering from ACL surgery. The Mist is comprised of Stewart, DiJonai Carrington, Courtney Vandersloot, Jewell Loyd, Aaliyah Edwards, and Rickea Jackson.
From the tip, the game went into high gear and never let up, This is not a game where defense is going to be much of a factor. With an 18-second shot clock, it is more to get the ball, get downcourt, and score. The pace certainly contributes to the entertainment factor. With frequent substitutions, the game just doesn’t let up.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Mist were ahead 73-67, so 84 would be the winning score. It looked as though the Mist would get the win, but the Owls went on a bit of a tear, tying the game at 78 on a bucket and free throw from Gray.
Diggins-Smith put the Owls ahead with a three-point shot, followed by a Jewel Loyd two-pointer. 81 – 80. Then Diggins-Smith launched a point shot to give the Lunar Owls the first win of the season. Loyd was the game’s scoring leader with 30 points for the Mist, followed by Collier with 27 for the Owls.
The first game winner in UNRIVALED HISTORY!!
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) January 18, 2025
@SkyDigg4 pic.twitter.com/IfJHHu3mka
The Second Unrivaled Matchup was Equally Competitive
The second contest featured the Rose and the Vinyl clubs. The Rose features Angel Reese, Chelsea Gray, Brittney Sykes, Kahleah Copper, Azurá Stevens, and Lexie Hull. The Vinyl roster is Arike Ogunbowale, Rae Burrell, Rhyne Howard, Aliyah Boston, Jordin Canada, and Dearica Hamby.
The pace of this game was markedly slower but no less entertaining. In fact, it was a nice contrast to see different styles of play. It was also good to see Teresa Weatherspoon, coach for the Vinyl, on the sidelines, after her abrupt dismissal by the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.
Standouts in this game were game-leading scorer Howard for the Vinyl, who bagged 33 points, Copper with 24 for the Rose, and Gray, known as the “Point Gawd,” with 21 points, also for the Rose.
The Vinyl held the lead after the first quarter, 23 – 17. By halftime, their lead was trimmed to one point, 39 – 38. In the third quarter, the Vinyl opened their lead to 17 points, but the Rose managed to claw back, making it a nine-point difference, 67 – 58. In the untimed fourth quarter, the Rose made a push and brought the game to a two-point Vinyl lead, but Howard made a key bucket and free throw to widen the lead, and the game ended with a Vinyl victory of 79 – 73.
FINAL
— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) January 18, 2025
Vinyl – 79
Rose – 73
Wayfair Arena holds 850 people. The atmosphere is almost theatrical, with a relatively intimate crowd, and a synergy between them and the players. It is immediate, intimate, fast, and most of all, fun. It was a pleasure to watch these players, who are all used to playing against each other in the WNBA, play together.
There will be some more getting used to each other time, but from this showing, it will only get better. There is already palpable team energy, which makes the fun factor even greater. From this showing, there is nothing to nitpick. The crowd certainly got more than they may have expected. I am looking forward to what should be an exciting, fast-paced, entertaining season. Most of all, this represents the progress made by women’s basketball. From here, it can only continue to grow.
And that, my friends, as they say, is that.’ — Martin Ruben.
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