Recap: Sims drops career-high 44 to clinch 110-109 overtime win

Gold Rush moves to 2-0 heading into Sunday’s season finale, while Rhythm drops to 0-2.

Sims, who received MVP 1 laurels and 776 leaderboard points, made 15-of-29 shots from the floor along with a 12-for-13 effort from the free throw line to produce the second-highest single-game scoring total in league history. She also added nine rebounds with seven rebounds and one steal.

Guard Ariel Atkins added a season-high 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor to garner MVP 2 status and 566 leaderboard points. She added three steals and three rebounds in the victory.

Forward Aneesah Morrow tied the AU Pro Basketball single-game record with 19 rebounds while pouring in 23 points en route to claiming MVP 3 plaudits and a season-high 664 leaderboard points.

Center Kiah Stokes chipped in eight points with eight rebounds, three steals and three blocks for Gold Rush, which trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half.

Forward Alysha Clark and center Tina Charles each tallied 22 points for Eclipse in a losing effort, while Charles added a team-high 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season.

Center Mercedes Russell also contributed a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while guards Kia Nurse and Jaylyn Sherrod each contributed 15 points.

KEY MOMENT

Charles gave Rhythm a 106-103 lead in the “Elam Ending” period before guard Lexie Brown countered with a three-pointer to even the score. Sherrod and Sims traded three-pointers to even the score at 109-all before each team had a chance to win the game but combined to miss three jumpers. After calling its timeout to advance the ball, Rhythm was assessed a technical foul after calling an excessive timeout. Sims converted the free throw to seal the comeback victory for Gold Rush.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Sims owns a commanding 1,101-point advantage over guard Rebekah Gardner entering the final day of the season. Morrow, meanwhile, rose into third place with 4,799 points while forward Natasha Mack follows in fourth place.

Extra Credit

Gold Rush and Rhythm played in the eighth overtime game in AU Pro Basketball history, including the fourth contest to require multiple overtime periods. It is the first overtime game since March 14, 2024, when Team Cloud bested Team Mitchell, 105-101. In addition, it is the second game to finish with an “Elam Ending” in league history, joining the game between Team Harrison and Team Sims on March 4, 2023.

RHYTHM NOTES

• Rhythm initiated a captain’s challenge on a defensive foul called against center Tina Charles with 8.1 seconds remaining in overtime, which was unsuccessful.
• Center Tina Charles, who dropped to 0-2 as a captain, has scored in double figures in 10-of-11 games this season, including the last six in a row.
• Center Mercedes Russell posted her sixth double-digit scoring effort this season, including her third instance in the last four games.
• Russell also authored the sixth double-double of her AU Pro Basketball career, including her third this season.
• Forward Alysha Clark scored a career-high 22 points in Thursday’s loss against Gold Rush, marking her third double-digit scoring effort this season … Her previous career high was 21 points against Team Siegrist on February 20, 2025.
• Guard Kia Nurse has scored in double figures in 10-of-11 games this season, including the last three outings in a row, after tallying 15
  points on Thursday night.
• Guard Jaylyn Sherrod posted her fourth double-digit scoring effort this season with her 15-point outing.

Next Game for Rhythm: Sunday, March 1, vs. Eclipse (2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT)

GOLD RUSH NOTES

• Gold Rush initiated a captain’s challenge on a defensive foul called against guard Odyssey Sims with 1:52 remaining in the first quarter, which was successful.
• Gold Rush had three players finish with 20 or more points, marking the first time three or more played the same team crossed the 20-point plateau since February 14, 2025, when Team Siegrist had a trio of 20-point scorers against Team Harris.
• Gold Rush’s 110 points are tied for the most by a team in a game this season, equaling the 110 points scored by Glow against Rhythm on February 11.
• Sims extended her streak of consecutive double-digit scoring efforts to 35 straight games after her 44-point effort against Rhythm … She has now scored 10 or more points in a league-record 63-of-65 career games.
• Sims authored her third career game with 40 or more points, which stands as the most in league history … Sims and forward Isabelle Harrison are the only two players in league history to fashion multiple career 40-point games.
• Sims also authored her 17th career game with 30 or more points, including the third time this season.
• Sims surpassed 700 leaderboard points for the third time this season, including the second time in as many games … Her 10 career games with 700 or more leaderboard points are the most by any player in league history.
• Sims has also tallied 500 or more leaderboard points in seven of her last eight games, including her fifth game with 600 or more points.
• Sims also became the first player in AU Pro Basketball history to accumulate 30,000 career leaderboard points after her 771-point effort on Thursday … She will enter Sunday’s season finale with 30,184 career points.
• Sims garnered Game MVP laurels for the 10th straight contest, marking the second-longest streak in AU Pro Basketball history … Forward Maddy Siegrist owns the league record with 11 consecutive Game MVP citations, which she collected last season.
• Forward Aneesah Morrow has scored in double figures in 10-of-11 games this season, including the last six in a row, after pouring in 23 points against Rhythm on Thursday night … She also pulled down 19 rebounds to register her sixth double-double of the campaign, including her second double-double in as many nights.
• Morrow’s 19 rebounds matched the AU Pro Basketball single-game record, which she previously tied against Eclipse on February 14 … The record was initially set by Emily Engstler, who pulled down 19 rebounds against Team Cloud on March 23, 2024.
• Morrow has grabbed 15 or more rebounds in a game four times this season, tying forward NaLyssa Smith and guard Crystal Bradford for the most instances in league history.

Next Game for Gold Rush: Sunday, March 1, vs. Glow (4:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. CT)

GAME MVPS

• #1 – Odyssey Sims (Gold Rush), +90 points
• #2 – Ariel Atkins (Gold Rush), +60 points
• #3 – Aneesah Morrow (Gold Rush), +30 points