Unrivaled playoffs 2026: Schedule, teams, stats to know
For four quarters on Wednesday, Kelsey Plum and Breanna Stewart faced off in Unrivaled’s playoff championship game.
Plum exploded for a game-high 40 points in the title match for top-seeded Phantom. Stewart finished with 32 – including the winning free throw – to lead second-seeded Mist to an 80-74 victory and the 2026 title.
Stewart and Mist’s teammates Veronica Burton, Allisha Gray, Arike Ogunbowale, Alanna Smith and Li Yueru will share Unrivaled’s $600,000 prize pool.
How did Stewart, who was named MVP, and The Mist win on Wednesday? We break down the unmatched finale as the 3v3 league wraps up its second season.
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Semi-final results | First round recap
How The Mist won the championship
The winning play did not come without controversy. With the Mist within a point of the winning score, Stewart drove inside and was initially called for an offensive charge on Tiffany Hayes. Mist coach Zach O’Brien challenged the play, officials overturned the call and put Stewart at the free throw line with a chance to win the title. For the second year in a row, a free throw won the Unrivaled championship.
Stewart finished the night with 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
Plum did everything she could to carry the Phantom over the finish line, scoring 40 points on 14-of-21 shooting from the field and 6-of-7 from 3. She scored 18 points in the first quarter, hitting four 3-pointers in the period.
But it wasn’t enough to defeat Stewart, especially after the Phantom lost Aliyah Boston to injury for the playoffs. Kiki Iriafen, who entered the starting lineup, tried her best to replace Boston’s unmatched defensive player of the year, and finished with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. But it’s hard to replicate what Boston brings.
The Mist had one of the most potent offenses all season, leading the league in scoring during the regular season, and got an incredibly even scoring night from every player who touched the court. Stewart was one of four Mist players to score in double figures. Ogunbowale had 19 points, while Gray and Smith combined for 23.
Game player
Stewart quickly set the tone for the Mist on both ends of the court. She’s been one of the league’s best scorers and most efficient shooters all season long, and on Wednesday she shot 73.3 percent from the floor.
Stewart scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the first half. By the end of the third, she had 26. And when she approached the free throw line for the game-winning shot, O’Brien said during the trophy presentation that he knew the Mist was going to win.
Turning point
Stewart started the second half hot, opening the game for the Mist. The score was tied at 43 at halftime, but Stewart helped the Mist take an early eight-point lead to give them almost all the momentum for the rest of the night.
Opening the third, Stewart single-handedly outscored the Phantom 12-2, scoring all of the Mist’s points to start the quarter. During this period, the Phantom turned to a small-ball lineup – in part because, without Boston, they didn’t have big players to support Iriaen. Natasha Cloud was forced to guard Stewart for long periods of time, and Stewart took advantage of the mismatch.
The Phantom roared back into the match, cutting the lead from 10 to four points, thanks to Plum powering the way. But Mist’s lead was too much to overcome.
Semi-final results
(1) Ghost 83, (6) Vinyl 75
Playing without injured Boston (18.9 PPG, 9.7 RPG), top-seeded Phantom trailed 49-46 at halftime despite Plum’s 18 points. Forward Dearica Hamby dominated the second quarter, scoring 11 points on 7 of 9 shooting for Vinyl. They pushed the lead to eight points early in the third, but Cloud (14 points, 4 assists, 2 steals) stepped up the Phantom defense and Plum took over offensively.
For the sixth time this season, Plum scored the game-winner – a step-back 3-pointer – to clinch a spot in the final. The guard finished 12 of 19 from the field, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range. Iriafen, starting in place of Boston, added 17 points (8 of 13 from the field). Hamby finished with 30 points (11 of 14 from the field) and Rhyne Howard added 16, but made 2 of 9 from 3-point range after draining eight from beyond the arc in the first round.
(2) Mist 73, (5) Breeze 69
Everything was Breeze at first. They started with a score of 13-0. The Mist’s Stewart missed her first five shots and was whistled for her third foul with 3 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the first quarter. The Breeze dominated the paint and led by as many as 16 points. But then the Mist heated up, outscoring the Breeze 28-18 in the second quarter to cut the lead to 44-38 at halftime.
On his 29th birthday, Ogunbowale helped take over late in the match. The guard scored eight points in the fourth period (Stewart scored seven) and hit the game-winning three-pointer. Ogunbowale, Unrivaled’s top reserve in the regular season, finished with 21 points, going 5 of 9 from 3-point range. Stewart had 13 of her 23 points in the second half, Alanna Smith made a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown and Gray scored a couple of timely buckets on the comeback.
For the Breeze, Dominique Malonga had a team-high 18 points and a team-high 14 rebounds. Paige Bueckers (8 of 22 from the field) and Rickea Jackson each had 17 points.
First round results
(6) Vinyl 82, (3) Laces 69
The match was won in the third period. Vinyl trailed by four at halftime, but Howard scored 13 straight Vinyl points and finished with 21 of his team’s 29 points in the third quarter. Howard single-handedly dominated the Laces, who finished the period with 17 points.
(5) Breeze 69, (4) Rose 50
Bueckers set the tone from the start. From an and-1 on the opening possession to a 3-pointer in the fourth period, the guard scored on all three levels. The Bueckers finished with a game-high 29 points, hitting 11 of 19 on field goals, including 4 of 5 on 3-pointers. Malonga scored six of his eight points in the fourth quarter, but his 17 rebounds were even more important.
