Tina Charles shooting the ball over Brianna Turner during Glow vs Rhythm game

Recap: Tina Charles shines early as Glow secures 86-73 win

Eric Rhew

Feb 04, 2026

NASHVILLE — Center Tina Charles tallied a team-high 17 points and added nine rebounds as Glow opened the 2026 Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball season with an 86-73 victory over Rhythm at Nashville Municipal Auditorium.

Charles anchored a group of five players scoring in double figures by knocking down 8-of-14 field goal attempts en route to securing MVP 1 honors and 544 leaderboard points.

Forward NaLyssa Smith, playing in her first AU Pro Basketball game since 2023, added a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds to claim MVP 3 distinction with 520 leaderboard points.

Guard Zia Cooke came off the bench to contribute 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including a 2-for-5 effort from three-point range, while guard Ariel Atkins chipped in 12 points with four rebounds and four steals. Forward Emma Cannon completed the double-digit scoring quintet by posting 10 points with five rebounds.

Guard Kia Nurse paced all scorers with 22 points, including 14 in the second half, to earn MVP 2 notice in the loss for Rhythm, which never led in the game. Guard Bree Hall scored 17 points with four rebounds in her AU Pro Basketball debut.

KEY MOMENT

With the score tied at 10-all early in the first quarter, Glow broke away by going on a 26-3 run over a nine-minute span to take a commanding 36-13 advantage.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

The Glow own eight of the top 10 places on the leaderboard following the season opener with center Tina Charles sitting top the standings with 544 points, while forward NaLyssa Smith stands in second with 520 points and guard Zia Cooke owns the third spot with 414 leaderboard points.

Rhythm Notes

Rhythm requested a captain’s challenge with 3:08 remaining in the third quarter on a foul called against guard Shey Peddy … The challenge was unsuccessful.
Guard Rebecca Harris became the fourth player in AU Pro Basketball history to surpass 10,000 career win points after Rhythm won the second quarter on Wednesday and now has 10,080 career win points … Guard Lexie Brown stands as the league’s all-time leader with 10,390 win points.
Nurse crossed the 20-point plateau for the third time in her AU Pro Basketball career … She has now scored in double figures in 10-of-13 games since joining the league last year.
Forward Natasha Mack just missed a double-double in her AU Pro Basketball debut after netting nine points with 14 rebounds.

Next Game for Rhythm: Friday, February 6, vs. Gold Rush (9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT)

Glow Notes

Glow requested a captain’s challenge with 2:30 left in the fourth quarter on an out-of-bounds call, which was successful.
Forward NaLyssa Smith logged her 13th career double-double in 16 career AU Pro Basketball outings, moving her into a share of second place on the league’s career chart with guard Odyssey Sims and forward Isabelle Harrison.
Smith has also reached double-figures in scoring in all 16 career AU Pro Basketball contests.
Smith’s 16 rebounds established a new AU Pro Basketball Opening Night record, surpassing the previous mark of 14 caroms held by guard Crystal Bradford and forward Theresa Plaisance.

Next Game for Glow: Friday, February 6, vs. Eclipse (6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT)