The two leading teams from the Unrivaled 3-on-3 women’s basketball competition are scheduled to compete for the 2026 championship title this Wednesday in Brooklyn.
In their semifinal showdown, Mist BC secured a 73-69 victory against Breeze BC, thanks to a crucial three-point shot by Arike Ogunbowale. Mist had been behind 67-57 with merely 1 minute and 4 seconds left in the fourth quarter, following a three-pointer from Breeze’s Paige Bueckers. However, propelled by Breanna Stewart’s seven points, Mist launched a 10-0 scoring spree, leveling the game at 67-67. The designated winning score was 72, after Breeze had ended the third quarter ahead 62-55.
Stewart emerged as the top scorer with 23 points, complemented by 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks. Ogunbowale contributed 21 points, converting 5 out of 9 attempts from beyond the arc. Allisha Gray registered 12 points, despite shooting 4-of-12 overall.
Rickea Jackson accumulated nine points during Breeze’s initial 13-0 surge, which instantly put Mist on the defensive. After Breanna Stewart finally notched Mist’s first basket, Cameron Brink swiftly responded with a three-point shot for Breeze.
Mist found themselves trailing 26-10 after the initial quarter, with Ogunbowale contributing four points. Nevertheless, they managed to reduce the gap to six points by the halftime break, with the score at 44-38.
With 45 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Ogunbowale sank a three-pointer, narrowing Breeze’s advantage to 60-55. However, this was their closest approach, as Breeze consistently repelled Mist’s attempts to close the gap. It wasn’t until Breeze was within five points of victory that Mist finally executed the sustained scoring drive that had been absent for most of the contest.
Dominique Malonga paced Breeze, achieving 18 points and 14 rebounds. Both Jackson and Bueckers recorded 17 points apiece; the ex-UConn standout and WNBA’s top draft pick also contributed 10 rebounds and 5 assists.
In their inaugural Unrivaled season, Breeze concluded the regular season as the fifth-ranked team, holding a 6-8 record. They then surprised the No. 4 seed Rose BC, defeating them 69-50 in Saturday’s initial playoff round to move forward.
Mist accumulated a 10-4 record before the postseason, finishing only one game behind the top-seeded Phantom. Their status as a top-two seed granted them a direct entry into the semifinals. Neither Mist nor Phantom qualified for the Unrivaled playoffs in the previous season.
The semifinal contests on Monday attracted an audience of 18,261 spectators at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. Prior to the Phantom versus Vinyl tip-off, Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell stated that the two semifinal matches generated $1 million in earnings, as reported by Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports.
Mist and Phantom are set to contend for the 2026 Unrivaled championship and a $600,000 monetary award this Wednesday at Sephora Arena in Miami. The game is slated to commence at 9 p.m. ET.
Kelsey Plum Propels Phantom to Championship Round with Sixth Decisive Shot of the Season
Kelsey Plum, in her debut Unrivaled season, has made six decisive game-winning shots for Phantom, steering them to the league’s leading record. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Phantom BC concluded the regular season as the premier squad in the Unrivaled 3-on-3 women’s basketball competition. Despite their dominant 11-3 record, they faced a formidable challenge from the No. 6 seed Vinyl BC and were compelled to mount a comeback to secure an 83-75 victory in their playoff semifinal encounter.
Kelsey Plum delivered the decisive shot for Phantom, sinking a stepback three-pointer that exceeded the target score of 82, thereby propelling Phantom into Wednesday’s championship final in Miami. This marked her second consecutive game-winning play, following a short jumper that sealed Friday night’s regular-season conclusion, and her sixth such game-ending basket this season.
Plum led all scorers with an impressive 31 points, alongside 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Tiffany Hayes contributed 19 points, and Kiki Iriafen notched 17 points and secured 11 rebounds. Phantom competed without their second-highest scorer, Aliyah Boston, who sustained an injury during Friday’s game against Rose and will also be sidelined for Wednesday’s final.
Vinyl sought to achieve its second upset against a higher-seeded opponent in the Unrivaled playoffs. The team, guided by coach Teresa Witherspoon, had previously beaten the No. 3 seed Laces 82-69 in Saturday’s opening-round contest in Miami. By the middle of the third quarter on Monday, Vinyl had established a 56-48 advantage, thanks to a three-pointer from Rae Burrell and a technical foul free throw by Rhyne Howard.
Dearica Hamby spearheaded Vinyl’s effort with 30 points (hitting 11 of 14 shots) and 8 rebounds. Nevertheless, she endured a forceful elbow to the face from an Iriafen foul, an incident that might have impacted her performance in the final moments. Howard contributed an additional 16 points, and Erica Wheeler chipped in 13. Burrell secured 10 rebounds in addition to her 12 points.
Being among Unrivaled’s leading two seeds, Phantom received an automatic advancement to Monday’s semifinals. Vinyl concluded the regular season as the sixth-ranked team, holding a 5-9 record—only one game superior to the 4-10 Lunar Owls and Hive—and consequently earned the final playoff spot.
