It was another full Sunday of games for the Women’s Premier Basketball Association as teams looked to pick up their first wins or stay undefeated. Some of the players who had been announced before the season who did not play in the openers made their debuts and there were more exciting newcomers announced over the course of the week.
Royals 87 Swish 85
The day started with a battle of teams that won their openers and it ended up being a great game. It was close throughout with the Swish leading most of the way before the Royals made their run and held on to an 87-85 win. The Royals benefitted greatly from having two players who had missed the first game, including Mariah Cooks, who has been one of the best players in the league. Their big rookie addition was Salimata Kourouma and she had the highest scoring game of the day in the win. Jada Lewis led the Swish, which added Bay Area native Jada Holland during the week in her first opportunity since college.
Royals: Kourouma 33/10r Hart 14 Doumbia 13/15r/7a Guinn 10 Stephens 8 Cooks 6/12r Young 3 Haynes 0 Shafer-Gaad 0
Swish: Lewis 22 Guidry Brown 16/11r Berry 14 Avent 13 Clark 13 Mahoney 5 Holland 2 Jones 0 Cash 0
Blaze 72 Titans 50
The next game featured two teams who lost their openers and the Blaze were looking to bounce back after a tough start to their title defense. The Titans kept the game close until the fourth quarter when the Blaze pulled away for the 72-50 win. The Blaze were led by Kaylin Randhawa, but also got two players back in Madeleine Ennis and league star Ameela Li. Returnee Mikaela Stanton and Bay Area native Erin Tarasow, getting her first opportunity after her college career, played their first games for the Titans.
Blaze: Randhawa 29/10r Pace 13/11r Li 11/7r/6a Mauricio 8 Ennis 8 Moore 3
Titans: Huffhines 16 Des. Jackson 13 Richter 6/10r Pointer 4/7r Arnoldi 4 Duckett 3 Stanton 2 Dej. Jackson 2 Tarasow 0 Donnelly 0 Thompson 0
Wolves 80 Riptide 64
In the next game, the Wolves had momentum from a big opening win while the Riptide were looking to put last season behind them to finally get a win. The Wolves started to build their lead in the second quarter behind Michelle Onyiah and Rebecca Harris to get the 80-64 win. Dellena Criner who had a storied Bay Area high school career, returned to the area for her first game with the Riptide.
Wolves: Onyiah 23/15r Harris 20/9r Jackson 10/6r/7a Huggins 10 Glass 8/9r Bulaya 6 Hall 3 Hester 0
Riptide: Kong 17/6r Criner 12 Shelley 11 Aubry 9 Durham 7 Armendariz 6/11 Buksh 2 Privado 0
Phoenix 85 Reign 48
The last game of the day had the Reign looking to bounce back from a tough loss and the Phoenix coming off of a close win. The Phoenix never trailed in this game, rolling to an 85-48 win with Mina Tameilau leading the way. The Reign were shorthanded, but did get their returning star Mo Bennett back in the lineup. Her college teammate Alex Montgomery, who had a long WNBA career, came out of retirement this year and made her debut along with Destiny Samuel, who has played in a number of overseas competitions in her young pro career.
Phoenix: Tameilau 20/9r McCall 16/14r Moore 16/7r Michelis 14/12r Garrett 14 Gallegos 5/6a Parnell 0
Reign: Bennett 18/11r McNair 10/6r Yniguez 7 Monteleone 6 Samuel 5 Montgomery 2 Hoyem 0
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