Recap: Team Hull falls short in late comeback against Team Sims, 92-88

The win allowed Team Sims to remain unbeaten at 2-0 in the opening week of the season, while Team Hull suffered its second setback in a row.

Bell, who earned MVP 2 honors for her effort, converted nine of her 12 field goal attempts, including a 3-for-5 effort from three-point range, and added four rebounds and two assists to end the night with 604 leaderboard points.

Guard Te’a Cooper came off the bench to contribute 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field to secure MVP 3 distinction and 420 leaderboard points. Guard/forward Rae Burrell added 15 points off the bench, while captain Odyssey Sims chipped in 14 points with seven assists and five rebounds.

Guard Lexie Hull took home MVP 1 accolades in the loss for Team Hull, scoring a game-high 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the floor and a 7-for-8 effort at the free throw line. The former Stanford star, who finished with 482 leaderboard points, also grabbed seven rebounds with three assists.

Forwards Theresa Plaisance and Ruthy Hebard each posted a double-double for Team Hull. Plaisance notched the first double-double of her Athletes Unlimited career with 14 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, while Hebard tallied 11 points with 10 rebounds.

KEY MOMENT

Team Hull nearly erased a 10-point deficit to start the fourth quarter and trimmed the margin to 83-82 on a Hull three-pointer with 4:13 remaining in regulation. However, a Bell triple and a lay-up by forward Bashaara Graves pushed the advantage back to 87-82 with 2:45 left. Back-to-back baskets from Hull and Hebard made it an 87-86 game before Bell’s lay-up with 1:39 to go secured the eventual win.

NOTES OF INTEREST

• Both teams initiated a captain’s challenge in the third quarter … Team Sims challenged a foul call against Sims with 9:01 left in the period, which was unsuccessful … Team Hull challenged a foul call against forward Danni McCray with 1:34 remaining in the frame, which was also unsuccessful … Teams are now 2-for-5 in captain’s challenges this season.

• Team Sims has won its two Week One contests by a combined seven points.

• Team Sims’ bench accounted for 40 of the team’s 92 points … The team also collected 21 fast break points.

• Team Hull and Team Sims played the first rollover quarter of the 2024 Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball season after battling to a 24-24 tie in the third period.

• Bell authored the 6th 20-point game of her Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball career and just missed matching her career high of 25 points, which she set in last season’s finale against Team Smith.

• Sims has posted double figures in scoring in 24 of her last 25 games after her 14-point performance on Saturday … It is the 30th time in 32 career games she has tallied at least 10 points, which stands as a league record.

• Sims also became the second player in Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball history to compile 200 or more assists, joining guard Natasha Cloud … Sims now owns 201 career assists.

• Hebard and Plaisance became the first teammates to record a double-double in the same game since March 25, 2023, when Team Smith had four players register a double-double in its win over Team Sims.

• Center Kalani Brown saw an end to her eight-game double-digit scoring streak after being limited to seven points in the win for Team Sims.

GAME MVPS

• #1 – Lexie Hull (Team Hull, +90)
• #2 – Kierstan Bell (Team Sims, +60)
• #3 – Te’a Cooper (Team Sims, +30)