MEDLEY, Fla. — Only one Unrivaled club remains undefeated, while one of the league’s biggest names delivered a star performance to kick off the third week of action.
Napheesa Collier had 26 points despite five fouls, and Skylar Diggins-Smith scored the game-winning free throw to help the Lunar Owls improve to 5-0 with a 75-73 win over the Laces in a battle of unbeaten teams on Friday night.
The star of the night, however, was Sabrina Ionescu, who had 38 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to lead the Phantom to a 75-63 win over the Rose. The WNBA champion for the New York Liberty played her first game without a splint on her right thumb, which she injured in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals in October. She was 7-of-10 from 3-point range in the contest after missing last weekend’s games to attend the NBA Paris Games.
“Yeah, I felt really good. I’m really happy to try and get back into it. Obviously get live reps while playing is always fun. Anytime you’re able to get up and down, play against a great team, and get back with my teammates is really exciting,” Ionescu said after the game.
“This was my first game without my finger splint. So for me, that’s a huge step, regardless of what the outcome of the game was. Just individually, like that’s a big step and in my rehab process, I obviously was excited to be able to shoot without it as well, kind of get back into shooting how I normally do.”
Satou Sabally scored the game-winning 3-pointer, finishing with 13 points, to help the Phantom improve to 2-3. Earlier Friday, ESPN reported Sabally was traded to the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, despite a reported push by the Liberty to acquire Ionescu’s college teammate from Oregon.
“I’m super excited for her and excited to see her journey,” Ionescu said of Sabally’s pending trade to Phoenix from the Dallas Wings.
While Ionescu had the performance of the night, Collier and the Lunar Owls had the comeback of the night.
Collier, Unrivaled’s leading scorer and rebounder, picked up her fifth foul in the second game with 4:48 left in the third quarter. But the Lunar Owls closed the third quarter on a 15-8 run, despite trailing by 12 points, and took the lead when Collier scored a layup to make it 73-71 in the fourth quarter.
Diggins-Smith was fouled on a drive to the basket, and made a free throw worth two points to seal the game. Unrivaled rules have players shooting only one free throw, but the basket counts as two or three points depending on the foul.
It was the third game-sealing basket for Diggins-Smith in five league games, with teammate Courtney Williams giving her the nickname “Sky, the finisher.”
“Sky just changes the whole game with her defense. I think we feed off that,” Williams said. “When she gets in the game and she got that look in her eye, we know what type of time she on. She’s just making it so much easier for everybody.”
Kayla McBride scored 26 points, while Tiffany Hayes had 17 points for the Laces (4-1) in their first loss of the season. The Laces missed Alyssa Thomas, resting a right knee injury. But Jackie Young scored nine of her 12 points in the fourth quarter during her first Unrivaled game, returning from a knee injury.
Azurá Stevens had 19 points, Chelsea Gray scored 16 points with six assists, and Angel Reese had 13 points with seven rebounds for the Rose, 1-4 in Unrivaled, after the loss to the Phantom.
Breanna Stewart and the Mist (0-4) look for their first win against Rhyne Howard, Arike Ogunbowale and the Vinyl (2-2) in the first game Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. The Laces and Rose will play in the second of two games Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The Phantom will play the Mist in the first game Monday, while the Vinyl meet the Lunar Owls in the second game to end Unrivaled’s third weekend.
Rose vs. Phantom highlights
Lunar Owls vs. Laces highlights
Unrivaled final score: Lunar Owls 75, Laces 73
Skylar Diggins-Smith scored the game-winning free throw, and Napheesa Collier finished with 26 points despite foul trouble to help the Lunar Owls remain unbeaten in Unrivaled with a 75-73 win over the Laces on Friday night.
The Lunar Owls overcame a 12-point deficit in the battle of Unrivaled’s unbeaten teams and leave the court with a 5-0 record as Diggins-Smith signaled with her hands after securing the win.
Collier, Unrivaled’s leading scorer and rebounder, finished with 26 points and seven rebounds. But she picked up her fifth foul with 4:48 left in the third quarter. The Lunar Owls closed the third quarter on a 15-8 run.
Collier put the Lunar Owls ahead 73-71 with a drive to the basket, while the Laces were fueled by Jackie Young scoring nine of her 12 points in the final period.
Kayla McBride scored 26 points, while Tiffany Hayes had 17 points for the Laces (4-1).
Unrivaled score: Laces 64, Lunar Owls 62 after third quarter
Target winning score: 75 points
Kayla McBride leads all scorers with 26 points as the Laces are clinging to a 64-62 lead, heading into the fourth quarter. The target winning score for both teams is 75 points.
Naphessa Collier picked up her fifth foul of the game, an offensive foul, with 4:48 left in the third quarter. But the Lunar Owls went on a 15-8 run to close the third quarter.
Unrivaled halftime score: Laces 49, Lunar Owls 41 after second quarter
Kayla McBride was falling over, but her 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer gave the Laces a 49-41 lead over the Lunar Owls after the second quarter.
McBride has 21 points, and Tiffany Hayes has 15 points for the Laces in the battle of unbeaten, 4-0 clubs.
Naphessa Collier leads the Lunar Owls with 18 points, but has four fouls. Allisha Gray has 11 points, and Skylar Diggins-Smith has six points, but both players have three fouls in the first half.
Unrivaled score: Laces 20, Lunar Owls 17 after first quarter
Tiffany Hayes scored nine points, and Kayla McBride added five points to help the Laces take a 20-17 lead over the Lunar Owls in the first quarter.
Napheesa Collier has eight points, while Allisha Gray has five points for the Lunar Owls.
Unrivaled final score: Phantom 75, Rose 63
MEDLEY, Fla. – Sabrina Ionescu scored 32 points, Satou Sabally scored the game-winning 3-pointer and the Phantom secured their second win of the season with a 75-63 win over the Rose in the first of two games on Friday night.
Ionescu was 7 of 10 from the 3-point line, adding nine rebounds and seven assists to help the Phantom improve to 2-3 with the victory. It was Ionescu’s first game back after missing a he Phantom’s two games last week to attend the NBA Paris Games.
“I was trying to get open, and get great looks,” Ionescu said after the game.
Sabally finished with 13 points and six rebounds on a night she was traded to the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, according to ESPN. Brittney Griner also added 14 points and four rebounds in the Phantom win.
Azurá Stevens had 19 points, Chelsea Gray scored 16 points with six assists, and Angel Reese had 13 points with seven rebounds in the loss for the Rose, now 1-4 in Unrivaled.
Unrivaled score: Phantom 62, Rose 54 after third quarter
Target winning score: 73
Sabrina Ionescu is up to 24 points, including a 3-point floater at the end of the third quarter, to help the Phantom take a 62-54 lead over the Rose. The target winning score is 73 points.
Azurá Stevens has 16 points, and Chelsea Gray has 14 points and six assists for the Rose.
Unrivaled halftime score: Phantom 42, Rose 36 after second quarter
Sabrina Ionescu connected on three 3-pointers, scoring all 13 of her points in the second quarter, and the Phantom have a 42-36 lead over the Rose at halftime.
Satou Sabally has 10 points, while Brittney Griner has eight points and four rebounds, and Ionescu has four assists.
Azurá Stevens leads the Rose with 15 points, Chelsea Gray has 12 points and five assists, and Angel Reese has eight points after the first half.
Unrivaled score: Rose 19, Phantom 18 after first quarter
Chelsea Gray has seven points and Azurá Stevens has six points for the Rose, up 19-18, over the Phantom after the first quarter.
Brittney Griner has six points, while Satou Sabally and Natasha Cloud each have five points for the Phantom. Sabrina Ionescu leads all players with four assists.
How to watch Unrivaled on Friday night
Unrivaled is available on cable television on TNT in the United States, and TSN+ in Canada. It is also available to live stream on Max, YouTube and Sling TV.
Lunar Owls (4-0) vs. Laces (4-0) preview
Collier, the Minnesota Lynx star and Unrivaled league co-founder, has been Unrivaled’s best player, averaging 28.5 points and 13 rebounds during the first two weeks.
Along with Allisha Grey and Skylar Diggins-Smith, the Lunar Owls are off to a 4-0 start and lead the league in scoring (78.0 points per game) and assists (14.3) with the fewest turnovers (4.8).
McBride (25.5 ppg) and Hayes (20.0) are the second- and third-leading scorers in Unrivaled for the Laces, who also started 4-0. They’re second in scoring (75.8), but first in rebounding (39.0).
Rose (1-3) vs. Phantom (1-3) preview
The Rose and Phantom each got their first wins of the season last weekend over the Mist, but both have 1-3 records.
Reese had 17 points and seven rebounds in her last outing in a 71-66 loss to the Laces last week, while Griner and Satou Sabally each had 29 points in their win over the Mist last week.
Ionescu will return to action after attending the NBA Paris Games last week.
Sabally is the sixth-leading scorer in Unrivaled (17.8 ppg), while Kahleah Copper leads the Rose (16.0 ppg, ranked 11th).
Angel Reese has new McDonald’s deal
Starting Feb. 10, you can order the Angel Reese Special, which includes a BBQ Bacon Quarter Pounder with Cheese topped with a new BBQ sauce, plus French fries and a drink.
WNBA free agency, offseason takes flight
The Unrivaled games come during a blockbuster week where several WNBA players will be on the move next season.
Griner agreed to a free agent deal with the Atlanta Dream after 11 seasons with the Phoenix Mercury.
The Laces’ Alyssa Thomas was traded from the Connecticut Sun after 11 seasons to the Mercury.
A three-team trade featuring Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum and several 2025 WNBA draft picks started the frenzy.
What is Unrivaled?
Six teams with 36 of the best women’s basketball players in the world, including Sabrina Ionescu and Brittney Griner, will compete in the 3-on-3, full court games for the next nine weeks.
Where is Unrivaled playing games?
Games will be played at Wayfair Arena in Medley, Florida, which is in the Miami metropolitan area, about 7 miles from Miami International Airport.
Unrivaled team names and rosters
Laces: Stefanie Dolson, Tiffany Hayes, Natisha Hiedeman (relief player contract), Kate Martin, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, Jackie Young.
Lunar Owls: Shakira Austin, Napheesa Collier, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, Courtney Williams, Cameron Brink (IR).
Mist: DiJonai Carrington, Aaliyah Edwards, Rickea Jackson, Jewell Loyd, NaLyssa Smith (relief player contract), Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot.
Phantom: Natasha Cloud, Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Marina Mabrey, Satou Sabally, Katie Lou Samuelson.
Rose: Kahleah Copper, Chelsea Gray, Lexie Hull, Angel Reese, Azura Stevens, Brittney Sykes.
Vinyl: Aliyah Boston, Rae Burrell, Jordin Canada, Dearica Hamby, Rhyne Howard, Arike Ogunbowale.
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
