Paige Bueckers, Cameron Brink and the Breeze suffered their first Unrivaled loss of the season Sunday, falling as the defending champions Rose rode a dominant performance from Chelsea Gray.
Gray poured in 37 points to lead the Rose, who remained unbeaten, while the Breeze dropped to 2-1 despite a balanced offensive showing.Â
Bueckers finished with a near triple-double, dropping 15 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, shooting 43 percent from the field. Brink provided a lift off the bench with 12 points, six rebounds and a block. Rickea Jackson led the Breeze with 20 points and four rebounds, while Dominique Malonga also scored 20 in the loss.
Gray added five rebounds and four assists to her scoring outburst, and Shakira Austin chipped in 17 points and eight rebounds as the Rose improved to a perfect 3-0.
The Breeze led 41-35 at halftime, capped by a Brink layup off an assist from Bueckers. After three quarters, the Rose held a 61-58 edge with the target score set at 73. Bueckers briefly tied the game at 63, but the Rose closed on a 10-6 run to seal the win and hand the Breeze their first loss of the season.
The Breeze will get time off before facing Dearica Hamby, Brittney Griner, Courtney Williams and the Vinyl on Saturday.