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The Mist are officially on a winning streak.
Despite an 0-4 start to the inaugural Unrivaled season, they improved to 2-4 with their second straight victory on Monday. They prevailed in a 64-61 win over the Phantom, who are also 2-4 following the loss.
Breanna Stewart led the way with a double-double of 19 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. She also sank the winning free throw after Phantom head coach Adam Harrington was issued a technical foul and ejected at the end of the game.
Stewart had plenty of help from the supporting cast as well with Rickea Jackson (17 points), Jewell Loyd (13 points) and DiJonai Carrington (11 points) also scoring in double figures.
On the other side, Brittney Griner (20 points and eight rebounds) and Satou Sabally (22 points and seven rebounds) did all they could in defeat.
But it was Stewart and Co. who drew much of the reaction on social media:
Alford Corriette @alfcorriette
Breanna Stewart and Rickea Jackson have had quite the synergy in #Unrivaled.
sasou @likesasou
I feel like Misties are that team where they struggled in the beginning to find a rhythm and once they do, they running with it!!! #unrivaled
☆ @TravyBurnerAcc
mist in the forecast 🌫️ Mist waking up 2 dubs in a row🙂↕️ #Unrivaled #unrivaledwbb
Thalia @TooGood2BeMine
#unrivaled stewie is always the first to score
Christian @Cmoon05
Rickea Jackson doing work #Unrivaled
Dr Cranberry Tea @DrCranberryTea
Rickea hoopin #Unrivaled
✨kase✨ @driedplants_
Dijonai been in the gym shooting! #unrivaled
James Profetto @JamesProfetto
Did the Mist figure it out?
Hmm, I have a feeling they’ll string together a 3-4 game winning streak if they hang on to beat Phantom.#Unrivaled
Fayola Perry @SWEETtriniSOUL
Stewie hasn’t met a board she didn’t like. Jewell seems to have found some shot consistency. Rickea just flat out hooping! #Unrivaled
Frankly, the Mist have too much talent to be languishing at the bottom of the standings, and this was an opportunity to build some momentum after their first win of the season.
And they took full advantage of that opportunity in the early going while building an 11-point halftime lead behind some of their star power. Stewart stuffed the stat sheet while doing a little bit of everything, Loyd caught fire from deep and Jackson mixed in timely shooting.
Throw in Carrington providing a spark off the bench, and the Mist survived strong starts from Griner and Sabally on the side.
It was inevitable that the Phantom would eventually make a run, and they did more than just that in the third quarter. While the Mist had no answer for Griner on the post, they also couldn’t stop Sabally from getting to the rim.
Sabrina Ionescu also played the role of facilitator as Phantom came charging back to tie the game at 53 by the end of the third. That set the stage for a dramatic finish with a target score of 64 instead of a running clock in the fourth.
That put all the pressure on getting off to a quick start in the winner-take-all sprint.
Jackson scored five quick points for the Mist before Stewart took over the primary scoring role. While Griner answered to put the Phantom in a position where a three-pointer would win it with a 63-61 deficit, Harrington’s technical and ejection proved to be the difference as Stewart hit the winning free throw.
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