Recap: Team Sims Goes Wire-to-Wire in 101-90 Victory Over Team Cloud

Eric Rhew

Mar 16, 2024

DALLAS — Guard Kierstan Bell scored a team-high 24 points and knocked down a career-high five three-pointers as Team Sims secured its second straight victory, a 101-90 triumph over Team Cloud to open Saturday’s Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball doubleheader at Fair Park Coliseum.

The win elevates Team Sims’ record to 2-0, while Team Cloud slips to 1-1 in the penultimate week of the season.

Bell, who received her first MVP 1 award of the season, shot 9-for-15 from the field, including a 5-of-9 performance from beyond the arc, and added eight rebounds with four assists en route to 610 leaderboard points.

Guard and team captain Odyssey Sims followed with an MVP 2 commendation after netting 19 points with 12 assists for the ninth double-double of her Athletes Unlimited career. She was 6-for-16 from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 at the free throw line, giving her a game-high 629 leaderboard points.

Center Kalani Brown completed the MVP trio for Team Sims after making 7-of-13 field goal attempts and 3-of-6 free throws en route to 17 points. Brown just missed a double-double with nine rebounds.

Guard/forward Rae Burrell led four Team Cloud players in double figures with a game-high 27 points, converting 9-of-18 field goal attempts along with a 6-for-7 performance at the free throw line. Forward/center Laeticia Amihere added a double-double of 17 points and 12 rebounds, while guard Natasha Cloud chipped in 17 points with 13 assists.

KEY MOMENT

Team Sims broke an 11-all tie by scoring 19 of the next 23 points to claim a 30-15 advantage after the opening quarter. Bell and Sims combined to score 11 of the team’s points during the outburst.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Bell moved into fifth place on the league leaderboard with her MVP 1 performance, rising four spots in the 40-player field. Kalani Brown, meanwhile, stands fourth in the league standings with 3,393 points while Sims holds third place with 4,040 points.

NOTES OF INTEREST

Teams are now 9-for-23 in captain’s challenges this season after Team Cloud and Team Sims each requested a challenge in Saturday’s game … Team Cloud initiated a captain’s challenge for a foul called against Amihere with 8:48 remaining in the third quarter, which was unsuccessful … Team Sims requested a captain’s challenge on a foul called against guard Air Hearn with 3:52 left in the fourth quarter, which was unsuccessful
Team Sims becomes the third squad in league history to record 100 or more points in multiple games during a single week following its 101-point effort on Saturday … Team Gray accomplished the feat in Week One before Team Mitchell had a pair of 100-point efforts last week.
Team Sims became the third team to win a game in wire-to-wire fashion after leading for 39 minutes, 2 seconds in Saturday’s victory … Team Gray led from start to finish in its 103-82 triumph over Team Mitchell on March 2 before going wire-to-wire against Team Mitchell last Sunday.
Sims earned her 16th career Game MVP honor, moving into a tie for second place on the league’s all-time list with forward Isabelle Harrison … Bell, meanwhile, earned her ninth career Game MVP award.
Burrell had her streak of 19 consecutive made free throws snapped when she missed the first of two foul shots with 5:32 remaining in the first quarter.
Amihere has authored four double-doubles in her last five games after finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds in the loss for Team Cloud on Saturday … She also owns five straight double-digit scoring outputs.
Bell has fashioned four straight games with 20 or more points, averaging 23.0 points per game during the streak.
Sims has dished out seven or more assists in all eight games this season … She also secured her fourth game with 10 or more assists this season.
Cloud has registered 12 or more assists in four of her last six outings, including her second straight game … She also notched the 10th double-double of her Athletes Unlimited career, including her fourth this season.
Guard Lexie Brown posted the sixth 20-point game of her Athletes Unlimited career, including her fourth this season, after finishing with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field, including a 2-for-6 showing from three-point range.