Diggins-Smith scored the final six points for the Lunar Owls
Unrivaled, the new 3-on-3 basketball league co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, tipped off in Miami on Friday, and the opening night got off to a thrilling start. Six-time WNBA All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith hit a walk-off 3-pointer to lift Lunar Owls BC to a big comeback win over Mist BC, 84-80.
One of the many unique aspects of Unrivaled is that the fourth quarter is untimed, and the teams will play to a “winning score” that is determined by adding 11 points to the leading team’s point total at the end of the third quarter. In the opener, Mist led 73-67 after three, which put the winning score at 84.
Lunar Owls had trailed most of the night, but they got their act together in the fourth quarter to stage a big comeback. Diggins-Smith, who had struggled earlier in the game, set the tone in the fourth on both ends of the floor. And when it came to winning time, she took control.
First, Diggins-Smith hit a 3 to put Lunar Owls up 81-78, and then, after Jewell Loyd scored on the other end to make it 81-80, Diggins-Smith looked to close the show. She called for a screen, and immediately went into her shot when DiJonai Carrington went under — a big mistake given the circumstances. Diggins-Smith’s jumper rattled in and the Lunar Owls bench stormed the court to celebrate.
Diggins-Smith finished with 21 points in the win to get the short-handed Lunar Owls, the only team with five players, off to a 1-0 start. Collier led the team in both scoring and rebounding with 27 points and 10 rebounds, while Allisha Gray chipped in 18 points and six rebounds.
