MEDLEY, Fla. — Unrivaled’s first championship will be decided between the Rose and Vinyl.
Dearica Hamby hit a driving layup over league MVP Napheesa Collier, and the No. 4 seeded Vinyl upset the No. 1 seed Lunar Owls 73-70 during their semifinal game on Sunday night.
Chelsea Gray scored an Unrivaled record 39 points, including the game-winning three-pointer, to help the No. 2 Rose beat the No. 3 Laces 63-57 in the first semifinal game.
The Unrivaled championship game is Monday night at 8:30 p.m. ET, and will end the inaugural season for the women’s 3-on-3 basketball league.
Here’s what you need to know from the Unrivaled semifinal playoff games:
The No. 1 seed Lunar Owls have been taken down in the Unrivaled semifinals.
Rhyne Howard led the Vinyl with 23 points, while Jordin Canada scored 10 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter to overcome a 62-52 deficit after the third quarter. Hamby finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds in the win.
Collier scored 36 points with eight rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the semifinal loss for the Lunar Owls, who were 13-1 and outscored opponents by 170 points during the regular season.
Courtney Williams had 13 points, Allisha Gray had 11 points, and Skylar Diggins-Smith had 10 points for the Lunar Owls.
Target winning score: 73 points.
The Lunar Owls are 11 points away from the Unrivaled championship game. Napheesa Collier has 28 points, including 17 points in the third quarter, to help the Lunar Owls take a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Rhyne Howard leads the Vinyl with 18 points, while Dearica Hamby has 10 points and 12 rebounds through the first three quarters.
Courtney Williams has 13 points, and Napheesa Collier has 11 points for the Lunar Owls, who have a 38-35 lead over the Vinyl at halftime. Rhyne Howard leads the Vinyl with 13 points in the first half.
Napheesa Collier, Allisha Gray and Courtney Williams each scored five points as the Lunar Owls took a 17-12 lead over the Vinyl in the first quarter.
Dearica Hamby led the Vinyl with four points, while Rhyne Howard and Rae Burrell each scored three points.
The Vinyl shot 5 of 21 from the field (23.8%) in the first quarter, while the Lunar Owls were 7 of 16 from the field (43.8%).
Chelsea Gray put the Rose on her back, and carried them to the Unrivaled championship game.
Gray scored an Unrivaled record 39 points, including the game-winning three-pointer, to help the Rose beat the Laces 63-57 in the first of two semifinal games on Sunday night.
The Rose will face the winner of the Lunar Owls and Vinyl semifinal in the Unrivaled title game on Monday night.
The Rose used a 23-12 third quarter to get back into the game after trailing 40-27 at halftime.
No other player scored in double figures for the Rose, played without Angel Reese, who cheered from the bench and was sidelined due to a left-hand injury.
Alyssa Thomas had 20 points, while Tiffany Hayes had 16 points and Kayla McBride had 12 points for the Laces.
Gray and Napheesa Collier previously held the Unrivaled record with points scored in a game at 38 points.
Target winning score: 63 points
Tiffany Hayes scored a three-pointer just before the end of the third quarter, and the Laces lead the Rose 52-50. The target winning score is 63 points.
The Rose outscored the Laces 23-12 points during the quarter, led by Chelsea Gray, who leads all scorers with 30 points.
Alyssa Thomas has 20 points, while Hayes has 16 points for the Laces.
The Laces have opened a double-digit lead at halftime over the Rose.
Alyssa Thomas has 14 points, and Tiffany Hayes has 12 points for the Laces in the first half, while Chelsea Gray leads the Rose with 15 points.
Before the quarter ended, Gray was hit in the face by a defender, but there was no foul called. After she made a two-point shot as the shot clock expired, Gray went up to a referee to complain about the call and immediately received a technical foul.
Alyssa Thomas has scored nine points for the Laces, who lead the Rose 16-14 after the first quarter.
Rose star Chelsea Gray, who scored a two-pointer before the first-quarter buzzer, returned to the game after taking a shoulder to the face from Laces star Kayla McBride.
Gray leads the Rose with eight points, while McBride has started 0-4 from the field. Both players were named to All-Unrivaled first team following the regular season.
The Rose and Laces will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, while the Lunar Owls and Vinyl will begin at 8:30 p.m.
Unrivaled games are available on TNT and TruTV, and available to live stream on Max in the United States.
The Unrivaled title game will be on Monday night at 7:30 p.m.
Reese, of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, won’t play in Sunday’s game for the Rose after injuring her surgically-repaired left hand during the Unrivaled regular-season finale last Monday.
It’s unclear whether she would be available to play if the Rose advance to the championship game. Reese did appear to participate in some capacity during Rose practice while wearing a brace.
The Rose won the season series 2-1, but they’ve seen three different versions of the Laces this season. Now, the Laces will see a different version of the Rose without Reese in action.
The Laces are led by Kayla McBride and Alyssa Thomas, while Jackie Young (illness) is questionable to play. The Rose will be led by Chelsea Gray, Azura Stevens and Lexie Hull.
The Lunar Owls started the season 8-0 before their only defeat to the Rose on Feb. 21. They have been Unrivaled’s best team with a 13-1 record, and the highest scoring offense in the league (80.7 ppg).
The Vinyl has two of the Top 5 Unrivaled scorers in Rhyne Howard (20.5 ppg) and Dearica Hamby (19.9 ppg), while Arike Ogunbowale has averaged 14.8 points in her last four games since returning from a leg injury.
Napheesa Collier, Chelsea Gray and Kayla McBride were named First Team All-Unrivaled, while Rhyne Howard, Angel Reese and Skylar Diggins-Smith were named Second-Team All-Unrivaled on Thursday.
Lunar Owls coach DJ Sackmann won Unrivaled Coach of the Year on Friday.
Reese earned Unrivaled Defensive Player of the Year honors on Saturday.
The Unrivaled Most Valuable Player award will be announced on Sunday with Collier as a favorite to win.
Unrivaled playoffs live updates: Rose reaches final, awaits Lunar Owls-Vinyl winner – USA TODAY
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