Unrivaled’s 1v1 tournament continued Tuesday night, and 4 WNBA players advanced. Because they’re headed to the semi-finals, each of those players also walks away with a $25,000 cash prize.
Unrivaled’s 1v1 tournament Second Round results
14 WNBA players competed in the second round: Allisha Gray, Kahleah Copper, Rae Burrell, Jewell Loyd, Shakira Austin, Azura Stevens, Rickea Jackson, Napheesa Collier, Courtney Williams, Rhyne Howard, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Arike Ogunbowale, DiJonai Carrington, Satou Sabally. Aaliyah Edwards had a bye after defeating Breanna Stewart 12-0 in the first round of the tournament.
The single-elimination tournament features games to 11 points (or 10 minutes, whichever comes first). And, players adhere to a 7-second shot clock, keeping the ball if they score.
Allisha Gray beats Kahleah Copper 11-5: Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray handily defeated Phoenix Mercury forward Kahleah Copper in the first 1v1 game of the night. Gray is the fourth-leading scorer in Unrivaled so far, and she continues her offensive excellence in this one.
Rae Burrell defeats Jewell Loyd 11-4: Burrell, who has both the height and wingspan advantage, jumped out to a 9-0 lead in this one. Loyd responded with 4 straight points, but Burrell stripped Loyd and finished with a layup to pull off the upset against the top-seeded Loyd.
Azura Stevens beat Shakira Austin 11-4: Austin upset Chelsea Gray in the first round, coming away with a 12-2 win. Stevens, meanwhile, had a bye due to Alyssa Thomas being injured in the first round. Stevens’ offensive rebounding provided an edge in the match-up and helped her jump out to a 7-0 lead and ultimately hold off consecutive Austin baskets.
Napheesa Collier beat Rickea Jackson 12-5: Rickea Jackson and Napheesa Collier both won their first-round matchups, Jackson against Jackie Young and Collier against Katie Lue Samuelson.
Courtney Williams beat Rhyne Howard 11-9: Courtney Williams had a bye in the first round, while Howard defeated Lexie Hull 12-7. Despite being undersized in the matchup, Williams snuck away with the win, and celebrated with her dad, Don Williams, on the sidelines.
Arike Ogunbowale beat Skylar Diggins-Smith 12-8: Skylar Diggins-Smith has been on a tear this Unrivaled season — and continued things with an 11-3 defeat of Dearica Hamby in the first round. But, Arike Ogunbowale, who was the top-seeded player in the tournament and subsequently had a bye in the first round, won this matchup on a free throw despite admittedly not being on target from deep,
Satou Sabally beat DiJonai Carrington 11-4: DiJonai Carrington, one of women’s basketball’s top defenders, and Satou Sabally, one of the WNBA’s most versatile players, faced off in the second round after both having a bye in the first. Sabally emerged victorious, with Carrington simply struggling to put up enough points.
Quarterfinal results: Aaliyah Edwards, Azura Stevens, Napheesa Collier advance
Aaliyah Edwards beat Allisha Gray 12-6: Edwards provided the biggest upset of the tournament on night one, beating fellow Mist teammate Breanna Stewart 12-0. She followed that up with another upset — this time over Allisha Gray.
She benefitted from a bye in the second round before facing Allisha Gray in the third, meaning she was the only quarterfinal player who played just one game on Tuesday.
Azura Stevens beat Rae Burrell 12-2: Two Los Angeles Sparks players faced off in the quarterfinals: Rae Burrell and Azura Stevens. Stevens, who had a significant size advantage in the matchup, came out hot out of the gate and was victorious. Burrell gave her space defensively.
“She was giving me, she was backing up,” Stevens said of Burrell after the victory. “If you’re gonna back up, Imma make it.”
Napheesa Collier beats Courtney Williams 12-4: Courtney Williams put up a good fight, but ultimately wasn’t able to get consecutive stops on Napheesa Collier, who is five inches taller than her and Unrivaled’s leading scorer thus far. Collier and Williams are teammates both in the WNBA (Minnesota Lynx) and Unrivaled (Lunar Owls) but for one night, they were competitors.
“You can be familiar, but you still have to stop me,” Collier said of Williams’ attempts to shut her down.
Arike Ogunbowale beats Satou Sabally 12-8: Arike Ogunbowale (who is 5’8) overcame a significant height disadvantage to beat Satou Sabally (who is 6’4). She jumped out to an 8-0 lead and holding on for a 12-8 win. The Dallas Wings star ultimately won it on a free throw.
“She’s a big guard, or a big post, whatever it is,” Ogunbowale said with a smile. “But I’m a big guard! I’m 5’8. I got a little bit of muscle.”
The Unrivaled 1v1 tournament winner will be crowned on Friday
As a result of Tuesday’s gameplay, four players advanced to the quarterfinals, and each of those players earned a $25,000 cash prize: Azura Stevens (Rose), Napheesa Collier (Lunar Owls), Aaliyah Edwards (Mist), and Arike Ogunbowale (Vinyl)
But more money is on the line; the tournament winner will be awarded a cash prize of $200,000, while the runner-up will earn a $50,000 prize. And, members of the Rose, Lunar Owls, Mist, and Vinyl will support their Unrivaled teammate, as all teammates will be awarded $10,000 if their teammate wins it all.
The semi-finals will take place on Friday, Feb. 14 at 7 pm. There, Collier and Stevens will face off, while Edwards and Ogunbowale will face off.
The winners of each of those matchups will compete in a best-of-three series for the 1v1 title.
