Unrivaled Basketball's 1v1 tournament blew through two rounds of cutthroat action on Tuesday night, setting up fierce competition for Friday's semifinals.
Mist forward Aaliyah Edwards, Rose forward Azurá Stevens, Lunar Owls forward Napheesa Collier, and Vinyl guard Arike Ogunbowale all advanced past their head-to-head opponents.
Each of the four semifinalists will take home at least $25,000, with $50,000 on deck for the tournament's runner-up and $200,000 awaiting the champion.
Additionally, with one player from four of Unrivaled's six teams still standing, two-thirds of the offseason league are still in the running for a piece of the $350,000 purse. The rules dictate that each 3×3 teammate of the champion will receive their own $10,000 check.
Edwards's star 1v1 turn propels her through Unrivaled quarterfinals
In what's shaking out to be the contest's top storyline, No. 8 seed Edwards shut out No. 1 seed Breanna Stewart 12-0 in the first round to earn a second-round bye. She then went on to take down a surging No. 3 seed Allisha Gray to secure a slot in the semis.
"Shouldn't be surprised," the 22-year-old Mystics star said after downing Gray 12-6. "Played my first year in the league, now I'm tapping into myself, and the confidence is showing and the work is showing."
Elsewhere, height and offensive versatility proved a winning formula for both No. 6 seed Stevens and No. 1 seed Collier, while No. 1 seed Ogunbowale is the last guard still standing.
All three ousted WNBA teammates to advance, with Ogunbowale sending her former Dallas Wings compatriot Satou Sabally out 12-8 while Collier handed fellow Lunar Owl and Minnesota Lynx contender Courtney Williams a 12-4 defeat. Stevens dominated her LA Sparks teammate Rae Burrell, sending her packing with a 12-2 victory.
How to watch Friday's Unrivaled 1v1 semifinals
Notably, Friday's semifinals will be heavy on UConn grads, with Notre Dame alum Ogunbowale the lone non-Husky hitting the court.
Ogunbowale will try to halt Edwards's run, while Collier and Stevens — who played together on two of UConn's Final Four rosters — will go head-to-head in the other semifinal.
Unrivaled's 1v1 semifinals and subsequent best-of-three championship series will tip off on Friday at 7:30 PM ET, with live coverage on TNT.
The fourth-annual FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup tips off Thursday in Puerto Rico, with 2022 winners Canada and three-time silver medalists Brazil aiming to dethrone defending three-time champs Team USA.
The US is led by three WNBA standouts. Veteran Mystics guard Brittney Sykes's 12.2 points per game was second on Washington's 2024 roster, while Sparks forward Azurá Stevens is strong on both ends of the court as LA's best three-point shooter also boasts the team's second-best rebound rate.
Meanwhile, Dallas Wings forward Maddy Siegrist is coming off a shooting hot streak, sinking over 50% from the field in her second WNBA season.
Former record-breaking Ivy League sharpshooter Abbey Hsu rounds out Team USA's roster, with the Belgian league rookie earning the spot over nine WNBA players.
The road to the 3×3 podium
Fifteen teams traveled to San Juan, Puerto Rico, but only 12 will compete in the tournament's main draw. Thursday's court is reserved for the four teams vying to qualify, with either Guatemala, Cuba, Costa Rica, or the Cayman Islands surviving.
With the 12 tournament teams split into four groups of three, pool play takes over on Friday and Saturday. Pools B (Canada, Mexico, and Jamaica) and D (Puerto Rico, Argentina, and the final qualifying team) will play their round-robin round on Friday. Then, Pools A (USA, Uruguay, and the Dominican Republic) and C (Chile, Brazil, and Colombia) will do the same on Saturday.
The top two teams from each pool will advance to Sunday's knockout rounds. All elimination games will feature on Sunday's court, including the quarterfinals, semifinals, third-place game, and championship showdown.
How to watch Team USA in the 2024 FIBA 3×3AmeriCup
The tournament tips off at 12:30 PM ET on Thursday, but Team USA doesn't feature until Saturday, when they face the Dominican Republic at 3:30 PM ET before taking on Uruguay at 6:35 PM ET.
All FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup games — including Sunday's 8 PM ET championship — will stream live on YouTube.