First place is on the line at Unrivaled on Monday night.
Week 4 wraps up Mist vs. Laces (8:45 p.m. ET, TNT/truTV), with the two 6-2 clubs meeting for the second time this season. Mist got the best of Laces the first time around by just two points, sending the Solemates to their first defeat of the season when Breanna Stewart secured the come-from-behind victory for the Misties with a game-winning free throw.
On a three-game winning streak, Mist enters the rematch playing their best ball of the season, putting them very much on track to complete the “revenge” season envisioned by Stewart. After experiencing an uneven inaugural Unrivaled season due to an MCL injury and an underperforming supporting cast, a healthy Stewart is pacing a reinvigorated squad that has a real shot at the championship.
Statistically, Mist is Unrivaled’s most balanced club; while they don’t do anything stupendously well, they’re pretty good at everything, both offensively and defensively.
Stewie is then there to fill any gaps on a game-to-game basis.
When needed, she can increase her scoring aggression. At other times, anchoring the Mist defense is her priority. On offense, she can also serve as one of the most dangerous decoys in the sport. Defensively, she can soar in for rebounds, protect the rim with a swat and swipe steals. For the season, she’s up to seventh in the league in scoring at just under 20 points per game. She’s also a top-five rebounder with just over nine boards per game.
Laces, like Mist, has the luxury of allowing their stars—Alyssa Thomas and Jackie Young—to pick their spots. However, Laces might have gotten a little too picky in their last game, as Laces lost to Vinyl while Thomas and Young played limited minutes, with Thomas not even taking the court in the fourth quarter.
Against an opponent that Laces most likely views at their equal, they surely will approach the game with more seriousness.
That’s not to say, however, that Laces’ reserves who did much of the heavy lifting for the club against Vinyl—Naz Hillmon, Maddy Siegrist and Jordin Canada—are incapable of making a game-swinging impact against Mist. Hillmon, in particular, is emerging as essential to to Laces’ success. But beating a club of Mist’s caliber and reaffirming their sole claim to first place likely requires fully-engaged efforts from Thomas and Young.
The losing streak is over, but Vinyl still has work to do
Before the first-place battle, Vinyl seeks a second-straight win over Hive (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT/truTV). And in the process, they should hope to discover a more sustainable winning formula.
Although the Rae Burrell outburst was fun, relying on Sweet Baby Rae, plus positive play from Brittney Griner, is not a repeatable path to wins. Burrell is a boom-or-bust high-energy player, while mid-30s BG hasn’t been able to string together impactful games.
Frustratingly, Vinyl still struggles to make the most of the familiarity between Rhyne Howard and Dearica Hamby.
The 2024 Olympic teammates and Vinyl returners have played a lot of 3×3 together, but that experience has rarely translated into a winning advantage. Finding a way to get consistent contributions from Courtney Williams and Erica Wheeler also has been an issue for Vinyl.
Hive, this season’s try-hard club that lacks the talent to contend for the postseason, is an opponent that Vinyl, regardless of lingering skepticism about their ability to reach their ceiling, should take care of without much trouble.