Vinyl, Breeze advance to Unrivaled semi-finals after first-round wins
MEDLEY, Fla. — Rhyne Howard scored 30 factors to lead Vinyl previous Laces and into the Unrivaled semifinals on Saturday, whereas Paige Bueckers‘ 29 factors led Breeze previous Rose to safe its semi-final berth.
Veteran Dearica Hamby hit the game-winning shot towards No. 3 Laces in Game 1 of the primary spherical of Unrivaled’s playoffs. Once they secured the 82-69 win, gamers from the sixth-ranked Vinyl membership — the final Unrivaled workforce to clinch a spot within the playoffs — jumped into Hamby’s arms in celebration.
Dominic Malonga had 17 rebounds to assist Breeze rout Rose, final 12 months’s Unrivaled champion, 69-50 and advance to the subsequent spherical, which might be performed at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Monday night time.
Top-seeded Phantom and No. 2 seed Mist earned computerized berths to Monday’s semi-finals.
The title recreation might be Wednesday at Unrivaled’s residence area in Miami, with a prize pool of $600,000 to be divided amongst gamers from the championship-winning membership.
Unrivaled proclaims end-of-season award winners
Phantom ahead Aliyah Bostonwho’s coming into her fourth season with the WNBA’s Indiana Feverwas named Unrivaled’s Defensive Player of the Year on Saturday after rising as one of many league’s greatest defensive standouts.
Boston, who was additionally named to the league’s second-team All-Unrivaled checklist, led the league with 29 blocks in 14 regular-season video games and completed second in whole defensive rebounds (111). She led Phantom in rebounds (136) and factors off turnovers (39). She averaged 18.9 factors, 9.7 rebounds and a pair of.1 blocked photographs — a big leap from her first Unrivaled season, when she averaged 5.9 factors, 5.4 rebounds and 0.4 blocks.
Boston’s Phantom teammate Kelsey Plum was named first-team All-Unrivaled together with Bueckers and Rose guard Chelsea Gray.
Bueckers led her Breeze membership in factors (22.1) and assists (5.5) per recreation and shot 38% from 3-point vary this season. Gray, who gained Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 match earlier this month, had 4 game-winning baskets and have become the primary Unrivaled participant to surpass 600 factors, 200 area objectives and 100 assists.
Phantom’s Roneeka Hodges was named Coach of the Year after main her workforce to a league-best 11-3 report in her first season at Unrivaled.
Up subsequent
Phantom will face Vinyl on Monday within the first of two semifinal video games in Brooklyn. Mist will go towards Breeze within the second matchup.
