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The Laces are keeping pace in the inaugural season of the Unrivaled basketball league.
After the Lunar Owls improved to 4-0 on the campaign with a win in Monday’s first game, the Laces responded with a 71-64 victory of their own to move into a tie atop the standings. Their win came over Angel Reese and the Rose Basketball Club, which fell to 1-3 on the campaign.
The Laces won despite playing without Alyssa Thomas and Jackie Young, which put the onus on some of the others to increase their scoring output. Kayla McBride (31 points, nine rebounds and three assists) and Tiffany Hayes (24 points, nine rebounds and three assists) did just that as an unstoppable one-two punch.
As for Rose, Reese led the way in a solid overall performance.
The LSU product did a little bit of everything with 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals, although she battled through foul trouble throughout the contest. Social media had plenty of reaction to her showing:
Kory stan @Normanination3
ANGEL REESE MASTERCLASS #ROSEBC
SolaDoza @TheAuLp
Angel Reese dominating to finish the quarter. She still struggles with her shot, but if she doesn’t let that demoralize her she can still be the best player on the court. #unrivaled
It was the Laces who came in with the undefeated record, but Rose had plenty of momentum after they earned their first victory of the season with Saturday’s win over the Mist Basketball Club. Throw in a shorthanded opponent, and Reese and Co. had an opportunity to move up the standings with a second straight impressive performance.
And they built some momentum in a back-and-forth first half with Reese battling on the boards before she found herself in foul trouble and Brittney Sykes finding her shooting stroke from beyond the arc.
A late three from McBride gave the Laces a 34-32 halftime lead, but it was clear Rose was capable of threatening the Laces’ undefeated record with Thomas and Young sidelined.
Still, it was a matter of time before the undefeated side started proving why it is undefeated.
McBride took over for stretches in the third quarter as the Laces created separation and took a 10-point lead into the untimed fourth. It wasn’t just her, as Hayes continued to dominate the boards and provide a scoring spark of her own.
It wasn’t all bad for Rose, as Reese drilled her first three-pointer of the Unrivaled season and created some turnovers on the defensive side.
With a target score of 71, the Laces needed just 11 points in the untimed fourth to clinch the victory. That was too much of a deficit for Rose to overcome, although they cut into the deficit and applied the pressure on the Laces.
The Laces clearly felt it and missed multiple free throws and shots at the basket to win it before McBride fittingly won it with a midrange jumper.