In what was probably the least competitive meeting of the opening weekend of Unrivaled thus far, the Laces dominated the Phantom 86-48 in what was a one-sided affair from tip to final whistle.
Even with a starting lineup as formidable as Sabrina Ionescu, Satou Sabally, and Brittney Griner, the Phantom had a tough time getting out of the gate. The Laces did a great job of moving the ball inside through Stephanie Dolson. She and Griner battled, but Dolson had a bigger impact in the paint and opened up shots for her teammates.
Kayla McBride was the story for the Laces, seemingly unable to miss in the first half. On top of leading the game in scoring at the half, she also found her teammates for four open looks. She finished with 19 points in the first 14 minutes, most of which coming from five three-pointers.
The Laces had pulled away at the half, leading 50-29
The Laces dominated the three-point shot, shooting over 47% in the first half.
The second half was more of the same. The 21-point halftime lead for the Laces quickly became 27, giving the Laces' second unit to operate. Kate Martin, Tiffany Hayes, and McBride was a fun lineup to watch. All three players were all-around contributors, and with McBride attracting most of the defense it opened up the floor.
Fever forward Katie Lou Samuelson, though, played some valuable minutes off the bench for the Phantom. With the announcement of Marina Mabrey's injury on Friday, Samuelson found herself in a great situation to contribute on the wing. She finished with just two points, but made her presence felt on the defensive end with a few forced turnovers.
The Laces lead grew to 32 to end the third quarter, setting the winning score at 85. The Phantom, needing 43 points to win, slowed down considerably. They almost exclusively ran halfcourt sets, looking to maximize on points per possession. But the shots would not fall, as the Phantom could only muster up six points in the final period. Kate "Money" Martin hit the game winner on a backdoor cut and secured the most dominant win of the Unrivaled season so far.
All five Laces that recorded minutes played finished with double-digit points. McBride led the way, finishing with a game-high 28 points. The Laces shot better from the three-point line (44.8%) than the Phantom shot from the field (32.7%).
The Phantom look to get on track on Monday, a tough matchup with the 1-0 Vinyl. The Laces will play the second game on Monday evening, taking on league co-founder Breanna Stewart and the Mist.