Breanna Stewart has won at every level of women’s basketball. Now she can add Unrivaled, the 3-on-3 women’s professional basketball league she helped start, to that list.
Stewart’s championship haul prior to Wednesday, March 4:
- Two high school state titles
- Four NCAA championships at UConn
- Three WNBA titles with the Seattle Storm and New York Liberty
- Three Olympic gold medals with Team USA
Now, she is also an Unrivaled champion after helping Mist BC defeat Phantom BC, 80-74, Wednesday night at Sephora Arena in Miami. It was the second season of the league Stewart helped co-found with former UConn teammate Napheesa Collier.
‘I pride myself on being a winner and continuing to kind of uplift and build a space for all players,’ Stewart said, ‘and that’s what I’m really excited about.’
The end of the title game was somewhat anticlimactic. Stewart was first charged with an offensive foul, but when the call was overturned, she shot free throws to seal the Mist victory. Stewart finished with an Unrivaled career-high 32 points. She also grabbed four rebounds, had two steals and two blocks. Arike Ogunbowale added 19 points off the bench and Allisha Gray 12 points for the Mist.
All six Mist players will earn $100,000 for the victory, up from the $50,000 every Rose BC player earned for last season’s championship.
Kelsey Plum scored 40 points on 14-for-21 shooting in a losing effort for Phantom BC, which entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed. Kiki Iriafen added 13 and Tiffany Hayes 12.
The Mist led by six points going to the fourth quarter, which in Unrivaled rules is untimed. The league adds 11 points to the score of whichever team is leading at the end of the third quarter and that is the target score. In this case, first team to 79 points won.
Stewart sealed it for the Mist at the free throw line, adding another championship to her legacy.
