Recap: Late Run Propels Team Cloud to 93-85 Victory
DALLAS — Guards Lexie Brown and Natasha Cloud combined for 36 points and 10 assists as Team Cloud used a late run to outlast Team Sims, 93-85, in the opening game of Sunday’s Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball doubleheader at Fair Park Coliseum.
The win allowed Team Cloud to close Week Two with a 2-1 record, while Team Sims dropped to 1-2.
Brown, who registered her third straight game with 20 or more points, received MVP 1 distinction after converting 7-of-15 field goal attempts and all six of her free throw attempts. The former Duke standout also dished out four assists with four rebounds en route to 531 leaderboard points.
Cloud, meanwhile, garnered MVP 2 honors for the fifth time in six games this season after adding 14 points with six assists and three rebounds. She finished the game with 519 leaderboard points, giving her four games with 500 or more leaderboard points this season.
Guard/forward Ty Young and center Adut Bulgak added a pair of double-double performances in the victory for Team Cloud. Young netted a season-high 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field while contributing 11 rebounds. Bulgak chipped in 11 points with a season-high 15 caroms.
Guard Kierstan Bell led five Team Sims players in double figures with 22 points to claim the game’s MVP 3 award. Bell was 9-for-15 from the field, including a 4-of-8 showing from long range, while grabbing a team-high eight rebounds. Team captain Odyssey Sims nearly registered a double-double with 16 points and nine assists.
KEY MOMENT
With the score tied at 81-all with 5:07 remaining, Team Cloud tallied 12 of the game’s final 16 points to secure the win. The squad went 5-for-10 during the game-ending spurt and had four different players contribute points.
LEADERBOARD IMPACT
Brown continued her rise on the leaderboard, moving into fifth place following her second game with 500 or more leaderboard points this season. Cloud owns the top spot in the league standings with 3,165 points pending the result of the Week Two finale between Team Mitchell and Team Gray.
NOTES OF INTEREST
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Team Cloud initiated a captain’s challenge on a foul against guard Lexie Brown with 1:09 remaining in the first quarter, which was unsuccessful … Team Sims initiated a captain’s challenge on an out-of-bounds call with 2:36 left in the fourth quarter, which was unsuccessful … Teams are now 6-for-14 in captain’s challenges this season.
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Team Sims set an Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball single-game record with 29 fast break points, eclipsing the previous mark of 27 points … Team Sims had 27 fast break points against Team Cole on February 24, 2023, before a 27-point effort against Team Hillmon on March 1, 2023.
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Cloud earned the 14th Game MVP award of her three-year Athletes Unlimited career, moving into a tie for third place on the league’s career list with Sims … She has notched a league-high five Game MVP awards in six games this season.
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Young secured the second double-double of her Athletes Unlimited career, including her first double-double since March 25, 2023, against Team Harrison.
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Bell registered the eighth 20-point performance of her Athletes Unlimited career, including her third instance this season.
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Bulgak, who posted her second straight double-double, grabbed 15 rebounds, which are the most by any player in the league this season … It is also the seventh time in league history where a player has finished a game with 15 or more rebounds.
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Bulgak is the first player with 15 or more caroms in a game since March 15, 2023, when forward NaLyssa Smith had a league-record 18 rebounds against Team Bell.
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Sims has scored 10 or more points in 28 of her last 29 games … She owns the league’s career record with 34 double-digit scoring outputs in 36 appearances.
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Sims also notched an Athletes Unlimited career-high six steals in the loss on Sunday, finishing just one theft shy of matching the single-game record set by guard/forward DiJonai Carrington on February 5, 2022, against Team Brown.
GAME MVPS
- #1 – Lexie Brown (Team Cloud, +90)
- #2 – Natasha Cloud (Team Cloud, +60)
- #3 – Kierstan Bell (Team Sims, +30)
