Recap: Team Gray Sprints Past Team Mitchell for 103-82 Victory

Eric Rhew

Mar 02, 2024

DALLAS — The tandem of guards Tiffany Mitchell and Allisha Gray combined for 59 points and 11 assists as Team Gray earned its second straight win, a 103-82 victory over Team Mitchell in Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball action at Fair Park Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

The win elevated Team Gray’s record to 2-0 in the season’s opening week, while Team Mitchell suffered its second loss in a row.

Tiffany Mitchell, who secured her first career Game MVP award, scored 28 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field, including a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range, while adding five rebounds and five assists. The former South Carolina standout finished with a game-high 627 leaderboard points following her MVP 1 performance.

Gray, meanwhile, fashioned a game-high and personal Athletes Unlimited career-high 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the floor, including five three-pointers, while sinking 5-of-6 free throws. She also dished out six assists and collected MVP 2 accolades and 623 leaderboard points.

Guard Natasha Cloud completed the MVP trio after scoring 15 points with a game-high eight assists and six rebounds, earning MVP 3 notice along with 491 leaderboard points.

Guard Air Hearn paced Team Mitchell in the loss, setting an Athletes Unlimited career high with 20 points while matching her career high with eight rebounds. Forward Maddy Siegrist added 16 points with seven rebounds, while guard and team captain Kelsey Mitchell chipped in 12 points with a team-high seven assists.

KEY MOMENT

Team Gray burst out of the gate with an 18-1 run, including the game’s first 16 points, in the first five minutes of the opening period. Team Mitchell missed its first 10 shots from the floor during the spurt, while Team Gray knocked down six consecutive shots, including a pair of field goals by Gray.

NOTES OF INTEREST

Team Gray initiated a captain’s challenge on a foul call against center Adut Bulgak with 4:24 left in the first half, which was unsuccessful … Teams are now 2-for-3 in captain’s challenges this season.
Team Mitchell was limited to just eight points in the first quarter, matching an Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball record for the fewest points scored in an opening period … Team Bell netted just eight points against Team Smith on March 15, 2023.
Team Gray became the first team to hit the 100-point plateau this season with its 103-point output against Team Mitchell.
Team Gray dished out 25 assists on its 38 made field goals, becoming the first squad to amass 25 assists in a game since March 25, 2023, when Team Smith had 31 assists against Team Smith.
Team Gray also became the first team to win a game in wire-to-wire fashion since March 24, 2023, when Team Hillmon posted a 109-86 victory over Team Sims … Team Gray led for 37 minutes, 53 seconds in Saturday’s victory.
Team Gray knocked down 14-of-28 attempts from three-point range, which are the most made three-pointers since February 24, 2023, when Team Sims was 17-for-30 against Team Cole.
Gray and Cloud have now won seven consecutive games dating back to last season … The duo, which has played on the same team in each of the last four weeks, own a 9-1 record in its last 10 contests.
Gray had her streak of 53 consecutive free throws snapped with 9:22 remaining in the second quarter when she missed a chance at a three-point play … It was her first missed free throw since the third quarter against Team Harrison on March 3, 2023 and just the seventh missed free throw of her Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball career.
Gray has scored 20 or more points in seven of her last nine games dating back to last season, including the last five outings in a row.
Gray received Game MVP honors for the seventh consecutive game dating back to last season, setting a new Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball record … She surpassed the previous mark of six straight MVP performances by Kelsey Mitchell from February 24-March 8, 2023.
Forward Emily Engstler became the first player in Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball history to record 10 or more blocked shots in a single week after ending Saturday’s win with four rejections … Engstler bested the previous weekly mark of eight blocked shots set by center Kalani Brown in the final week of the 2022 campaign.
Engstler also became the eighth different player to foul out of a game after receiving her sixth foul with 2:42 left in the third quarter … She finished with seven points and nine rebounds in 21 minutes.
Kelsey Mitchell became the fourth player in Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball history to accumulate 10,000 career leaderboard points after her 167-point performance against Team Gray … Mitchell now owns 10,063 leaderboard points over 32 career games.