MEDLEY, Fla. – Unrivaled’s 1-on-1 women’s basketball tournament is fast-paced and unforgiving. Just ask Breanna Stewart – a league co-founder ousted in the first night of the competition after just three minutes.
Stewart fell to her Unrivaled teammate Alliyah Edwards, 12-0, during their first-round matchup in the league’s midseason tournament on Monday night.
“Lee was hot. She was just being aggressive and I’m happy for her. It sucks that I only had one shot, but Lee deserved it,” Stewart told USA TODAY Sports after the defeat to her Mist teammate.
Napheesa Collier, Kahleah Copper, Rhyne Howard, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Allisha Gray, Rickea Jackson and Shakira Austin are all moving onto the second round on Tuesday.
Eight first-round games were played on Monday night, while the other games lasted roughly 6-7 minutes as players played to 11 points by twos and threes.
However, the Stewart-Edwards game was the biggest upset of the night, and sets the stage for the rest of the tournament where the winner gets $200,000 of the $350,000 in prize pool money.
The credentials are obvious: Stewart, 30, is a two-time WNBA Finals MVP, a three-time WNBA champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist. She was one of four No. 1 seeds in the tournament.
Edwards was one of the No. 8 seeds, but the No. 6 pick for the Washington Mystics in the 2024 WNBA draft surely did not play like it against a fellow Connecticut standout she looked up to.
“That was crazy. My strategy was to trust my shot first, then get a couple buckets at the rim where I’m comfortable. But I was just ready for the moment,” Edwards told USA TODAY Sports after the game. “I’m sad it had to be against Stewie. I feel like it was a set up. But Misties and UConn for life.”
The Unrivaled players slowly picked up on their 1-on-1 strategies after watching Collier beat fellow UConn standout Katie Lou Samuelson 12-6 in the first game.
Shakira Austin, the No. 3 pick in the 2022 WNBA draft for the Mystics, used her size to get the best of Chelsea Gray, a three-time WNBA champion and 2022 WNBA Finals MVP. She also learned to maintain her pace after watching Collier win.
“If you play smart after you score, you can take your time. I saw that from the first game, Phee was doing that a couple of times. As a big, who has to take it from half court, I have to save my breath,” Austin said.
Rhyne Howard took advantage of the wrinkle in the game, where players are allowed to clear the ball by passing it to a stationary person on the court before resetting behind the three-point like. Howard wisely rested before clearing her possession, just to get a few extra moments to breathe.
“They told us if you do the outlet, they can’t throw it to you until you clear,” Howard said. “It’s a nonstop game. But being able to find those little moments in the game to catch my breath was really helpful.”
Meanwhile, other players like Allisha Gray, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Rickea Jackson were like Edwards in how they applied pressure on their opponents.
Diggins-Smith said she tried to speed up the taller Dearica Hamby by getting under her defensively. And when it was time to shoot from the outside, follow through. She was 3 of 6 from 3-point range in her 11-3 win.
“I was trying to pick my spots and take my shots, instead of chucking and chasing, like some people were doing, tiring themselves out,” Diggins-Smith said. “I was trying to stay with my follow through, and knock a few down.”
Jackson, who beat Jackie Young 11-3, focused on playing efficiently and quickly instead of playing back-and-forth like she saw in earlier games.
Jackson will face Collier in the next round on Tuesday. Collier has been Unrivaled’s best player overall, averaging 29.3 points and 11.5 rebounds during the 3-on-3 games.
“I think it’s going to be pretty exciting to watch. Phee is strong as hell. I gotta box out and not let her get second-chance points. That’s going to be a tough one,” Jackson said of Collier. “She’s very experienced and we match up pretty well. But I’m up for it, for sure.”
Unrivaled 1-on-1 score: Aaliyah Edwards beats Breanna Stewart 12-0
The last game of the first round ends with a haymaker from Edwards, beating her Mist teammate in Stewart. It was the biggest upset of the night at Edwards, an eight seed, beat Stewart, a one seed.
Unrivaled 1-on-1 score: Rickea Jackson beats Jackie Young 11-3
Jackson got out to a 7-0 lead in first 1:30, and moves on past Young, who briefly went down with a lower body injury.
Unrivaled 1-on-1 score: Allisha Gray beats Jordin Canada 11-4
Gray becomes the third Lunar Owls player, joining Collier and Diggins-Smith, to move onto the second round. She beats her Atlanta Dream teammate in the first round.
Unrivaled 1-on-1 score: Skylar Diggins-Smith beats Dearica Hamby 11-3
Diggins-Smith moves on in the battle between 10-year WNBA vets.
Unrivaled 1-on-1 score: Rhyne Howard beats Lexie Hull 12-7
Howard beats Hull in the battle between third-year WNBA players.
Unrivaled 1-on-1 score: Kahleah Copper beats Aliyah Boston 11-6
Kahleah Copper is moving onto the second round.
Unrivaled 1-on-1 score: Shakira Austin beats Chelsea Gray 12-2
Shakira Austin advances with a 12-2 win over Chelsea Gray, the three-time WNBA champion and 2022 WNBA Finals MVP.
Unrivaled 1-on-1 score: Napheesa Collier beats Katie Lou Samuelson 12-6
League founder Napheesa Collier moves on after a 12-6 win in a battle between former Connecticut stars.
How to watch Unrivaled games Monday night on TV
Unrivaled is available on cable television on TNT and TruTV in the United States, and TSN+ in Canada.
Watch: Unrivaled games on Sling TV
How to live stream Unrivaled games on Monday night
Unrivaled games are also available to live stream on Max, and internationally on YouTube.
Unrivaled schedule on Monday
Here are the eight matchups in the first round on Monday night:
Napheesa Collier vs. Katie Lou Samuelson
Chelsea Gray vs. Shakira Austin
Kahleah Cooper vs. Aliyah Boston
Rhyne Howard vs. Lexie Hull
Skylar Diggins-Smith vs. Dearica Hamby
Allisha Gray vs. Jordin Canada
Jackie Young vs. Rickea Jackson
Breanna Stewart vs. Aaliyah Edwards
Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament rules
Each game will be played to 11 points or 10 minutes, whichever comes first.
Players will play make-it, take-it style – if they score, they retain possession.
There will be a running clock and a shot clock of seven seconds per possession.
Every game is single elimination until the final, which will be a best-of-three series.
Unrivaled schedule on Tuesday
Along with the first-round winners Monday, seven players will enter the tournament in the second round due to player injuries.
These two second-round matchups bypassed the first round: Jewell Loyd vs. Rae Burrell; Satou Sabally vs. DiJonai Carrington.
Arike Ogunbowale, Azurá Stevens and Courtney Williams will also face first-round winners.
The winner between Stewart and Edwards will advance to the quarterfinals since the other two players in their bracket are unable to compete.
Which Unrivaled players are not participating in the 1-on-1 tournament?
Unrivaled announced Sunday night that the following players won’t participate due to injury: Tiffany Hayes, Kayla McBride, Alyssa Thomas, Natasha Cloud, Brittney Sykes, Kate Martin and Marina Mabrey.
Angel Reese, Brittney Griner, Sabrina Ionescu, Courtney Vandersloot, Stefanie Dolson and Cameron Brink were already scheduled to not participate.
What do Unrivaled players win?
The winner of the 1-on-1 tournament will win $200,000, the runner-up will receive $50,000, and the other two semifinalists will take away $25,000. Each club teammate of the winner will also receive $10,000.