Recap: Sims drops 33 points as Team Sims holds on against Team Mitchell, 94-91

Sims, who tallied the sixth double-double of her Athletes Unlimited career, knocked down 11-of-23 shots from the field, including a 3-for-4 effort from beyond the arc, in addition to sinking all eight of her free throw attempts. She nearly registered a triple-double by ending the night with eight rebounds, securing MVP 1 honors and 805 leaderboard points.

Guard Sequoia Holmes collected MVP 3 accolades in her Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball debut after contributing 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor, including a 4-for-7 performance from long range. She also added three rebounds, three blocked shots and three steals to finish with 537 leaderboard points.

Guard Te’a Cooper added 11 points in her Athletes Unlimited debut, while center Kalani Brown notched the fifth double-double of her AU Pro Basketball career with 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

Forward/center Laeticia Amihere earned MVP 2 honors in the loss for Team Mitchell, tallying 16 points with four rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots and two steals. Captain Kelsey Mitchell paced her squad with 19 points and seven rebounds.

KEY MOMENT

With the score tied at 82-all, Team Sims scored eight of the next 10 points, including a pair of Sims three-pointers, to take a 90-84 advantage with 3:26 remaining. Team Mitchell narrowed the gap to 90-88 with 1:34 left, but a jumper by Kalani Brown sealed the victory with 1:25 remaining.

NOTES OF INTEREST

• Team Sims initiated a captain’s challenge of an out-of-bounds call with 1:46 remaining in the third quarter, which was successful … Teams are now 2-for-2 in captain’s challenges this season.

• Team Sims and Team Mitchell combined to register 21 blocked shots in Thursday’s nightcap with each team surpassing the league single-game record … Team Sims finished with 11 rejections while Team Mitchell added 10 blocks.

• There were 12 ties and 14 lead changes in the game.

• Sims, the league’s all-time leading scorer with 736 points, has reached double figures in scoring 23 times in her last 24 games … The former Baylor star also hit the 25-point plateau for the 16th time in her Athletes Unlimited career along with her ninth career 30-point output.

• Sims joins forwards Naz Hillmon and NaLyssa Smith as the only players in Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball history to record 800 or more leaderboard points in a single game … She also joins Hillmon, Smith, guard Allisha Gray and forward Tianna Hawkins as the only players in league history with at least 700 points in a single contest.

• Sims now owns a league-record 10 games with 500 or more leaderboard points.

• Sims’ 8-for-8 effort at the free throw line marked the 14th time in league history a player has been perfect with at least eight attempts in a game … Sims has now accounted for three of those instances.

• Sims’ 33 points against Team Mitchell on Thursday night marked the most by any player in a season-opening game in Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball history … She eclipsed her own Opening Night record of 30 points, which were scored against Team Williams on February 23, 2023.

• Mitchell, who scored in double figures for the 26th time in her three-year Athletes Unlimited career, ended the night with 195 leaderboard points … The former Ohio State standout now needs just 114 leaderboard points to become the fourth player in league history to amass 10,000 career leaderboard points.

• Forward Maddy Siegrist fashioned the first double-double of her Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball career after scoring 18 points with a game-high 12 rebounds … Siegrist sank 6-of-9 field goal attempts in addition to being perfect in her six trips to the free throw line.

• Guard Air Hearn tallied an Athletes Unlimited career-high eight rebounds in addition to scoring 14 points in the loss for Team Mitchell.

GAME MVPS

• #1 – Odyssey Sims (Team Sims, +90)
• #2 – Laeticia Amihere (Team Mitchell, +60)
• #3 – Sequoia Holmes (Team Sims, +30)