Dearica Hamby delivered the game-winning shot and a strong message after leading the Vinyl to a 73-70 upset victory over the top-seeded Lunar Owls in Sunday night’s Unrivaled semifinal. The Los Angeles Sparks forward finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds in the biggest upset of the inaugural league season.
“We’ve been counted out this entire season,” Hamby said postgame. “We consider ourselves underdogs but that didn’t show in our locker room. We never stopped believing in ourselves… (Coach Teresa Weatherspoon) continuously believed in us and continued to pour faith in us. She kept saying she had a vision for us.”
Hamby sealed the win with a left-handed layup over WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier, capping a tightly contested final quarter. Collier, who tied her season high with 36 points, briefly had a chance to take the lead but passed on a late three-point attempt.
“It definitely stings,” said Lunar Owls coach DJ Sackmann. “We’ve been on the other side of this … but this time it didn’t go our way.”
Heading into Unrivaled’s semifinals, the Lunar Owls were 13-1 and considered heavy favorites. Collier was named league MVP before tip-off. Despite that, the Vinyl’s defense held strong in the closing moments, and Hamby’s decision to drive left secured their championship berth.
“I felt like she was going to jump, and I was going to have a clear right-handed layup,” Hamby said. “I went right, and she jumped it, so I went back left, and I know people think I don’t like to go left, that I don’t use my left hand, but I used it when it mattered.”
In the earlier semifinal, Chelsea Gray powered the Rose to a 63-57 win over the Laces, scoring a tournament-high 39 points, including the game-winning three-pointer. Gray led a second-half comeback with 15 points in the third quarter and helped rally a team missing stars Angel Reese and Kahleah Copper.
“We’ve been counted out all year long,” said Rose coach Nola Henry. “Every player on our team has stepped up and embraced the difficulties.”
The Rose enter Monday’s final as the favorite, having won six of their last eight games. The Vinyl, who barely clinched a playoff berth, now stand one win away from the title. The championship game tips off Monday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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