Saturday
Blaze 137 Wolves 101
The second to last weekend of action started with the usual full slate of games on Saturday. The Wolves were looking to take advantage of the Blaze only having six players available, taking the lead early. After that first quarter, the champions dominated the remaining three periods for a 137-101 win, getting an incredible game from Nette Howard and a big return from Koi Love as well as the usual contributions across the board from Chandler Prater. The trio of Aaniya Webb, Nevaeh Asiasi, and Micah Gray led the Wolves, which certainly did not have an easy schedule for these two days.
Blaze: Howard 49/13r/6s Love 40/10r/6a Prater 23/14r/8a Mauricio 17 Li 4/6r/9a Gamble 2
Wolves: Webb 28 Asiasi 27/10r Gray 27 Clarke 18 McGee 1 Harris 0/7a Yniguez 0 Fitzgerald-Greer 0
Phoenix 81 Royals 62
The Phoenix continued to round into form with a balanced effort in the absence of the player who had been the consistent presence for them all season long. They almost pulled off a clean sweep, but the Royals did manage a tie in the last quarter to only lose 81-62 as they were looking to stay in the playoffs.
Phoenix: McCall 14/10r Michelis 14/9r Sonnier 14 Moore 12/6r Cain 11/14r Amundsen 9/6r Duckett 7
Royals: Jackson 17/8r Hart 15 Carter 12 Mazyck 8 Mizukawa 4/7r/7a Roberts 4 Hanna 2
Reign 95 Titans 83
The two teams sitting outside the playoffs met while shorthanded, trying to make a late push. The Titans were in better shape and had six players, taking the lead after the first quarter. On the other hand, the Reign had no available substitutes, but Diamond Richardson and Alaiyah San Juan helped them control the middle two quarters. Chance Bucher led the Titans, which did tie the fourth quarter, but the 95-83 loss was a massive blow to their remaining possibilities to climb.
Titans: Bucher 23/8r Hiraki 17/6r/6a Woo 14/12r Dunn 14/6r Arnoldi 8/13r Harvey 7
Reign: Richardson 27/8r San Juan 27/7r Alvarado 18 Thomas 17/13r Jackson 6/6r
Riptide 93 Swish 74
The last game of the day was between teams trying to position themselves for the playoffs. It was a tie game after one quarter before Alexis Whitfield and Sydney Richards helped the Riptide take a big lead in the middle quarters. Cordasia Harris and Alayna Contreras led the Swish as they salvaged the final quarter point, losing 93-74, but still trying to hold their spot in the standings.
Riptide: Whitfield 25/10r Richards 20/6a Cooper 17/7r Armendariz 11/8r Smith 8/11r Woods 8 Linzie 4/9r
Swish: Harris 22/12r Contreras 21/9r Holland 9/8a Avent 9 Ugass 6/8r Ogele 5 Lewis 2
Sunday
Phoenix 91 Wolves 82
The Wolves continued their difficult weekend on Sunday with a game against the other team sitting in one of the spots for the bye in the playoffs. The Phoenix needed a big game from Erica McCall to seal the win this time and she delivered by dominating in the paint. Micah Gray led the Wolves, which only lost 91-82 yet could only secure the last quarter point.
Wolves: Gray 34 Clarke 16/15r McGee 11/6r Asiasi 11 Webb 10/6r Harris 0
Phoenix: McCall 33/16r Moore 17 Lawson 16/9r/8a Cain 10/11r Amundsen 6 Sonnier 5 Michelis 4 Duckett 0
Blaze 114 Titans 64
The Blaze extended their lead at the top of the standings with a clean sweep behind Koi Love and Chandler Prater. The Titans were paced by Chance Bucher, but the 114-64 loss left them in precarious position for trying to sneak into the playoffs.
Blaze: Love 25/12r/7a/6s Prater 20/10r Mauricio 18/6r Howard 17/11r Li 17/9a/6s Walker 11/6r Gamble 6
Titans: Bucher 24 Harvey 11 Woo 10/7r Dunn 7 Hiraki 6/9r/6a Arnoldi 4 Andersen 2
Royals 76 Riptide 60
The Riptide were looking to complete a successful weekend against two teams that were close to them in the standings. Ayanna Mazyck and the Royals had other ideas in the second half though, getting the 76-60 win. The three quarter points also helped them virtually clinch the final playoff spot after the day ended.
Royals: Mazyck 22/8r Jackson 18/18r Carter 13 Hart 11/7r Hanna 10/11r Roberts 2/11r Ikeora 0 Mizukawa 0
Riptide: Armendariz 14/6r Richards 13 Hamilton 13 Linzie 10/6r Smith 6/13r Finau 2 Woods 2
Swish 121 Reign 111
The Reign were looking to complete a perfect weekend and climb out of last place to close the day. Kharyssa Richardson returned to give them a sixth player and had a big scoring day alongside Kayla Thomas, Alaiyah San Juan, and Alexsandra Alvarado. The game was close throughout, but the Swish had the better fourth quarter for the 121-111 win, keeping their spot in the standings as Andriana Avent, Rheme Ogele, and Alayna Contreras led the way for them.
Reign: Thomas 29/14r K. Richardson 21 San Juan 20/7r Alvardo 20 D. Richardson 18/11a Jackson 3
Swish: Avent 28 Ogele 25/10r Contreras 20 Doumbia 15/6a Harris 12 Holland 11/6r Ugass 6 Lewis 4
Standings:
Teams get three points for a win and one point is awarded per regulation quarter, which is split if there is a tie.
1. Blaze 68
2. Phoenix 62
3. Swish 48
4. Riptide 43
5. Wolves 37
6. Royals 34
7. Titans 22.5
8. Reign 21.5
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