Can the Rose continue their ascent up the Unrivaled standings?
The Rose will face one of Unrivaled's top squads in the Laces on Monday. The Laces, which feature former Chicago Sky center Stefanie Dolson, are tied with the Lunar Owls at the top of the Unrivaled standings with a perfect 3-0 record. They defeated the Vinyl in a close 83-79 victory on Friday, which saw Dolson log 10 points and five rebounds in nine minutes of play.
While the Laces are one of the league's top scoring and passing teams, it will be up to forwards Angel Reese and Azura Stevens to keep pace with Unrivaled's most proficient rebounding team.
The Laces lead the league with 38.7 rebounds per game, putting them a whole 6.7 rebounds ahead of the Rose. Forward Alyssa Thomas, who proved herself as a rebounding leader for the Connecticut Sun last season, is leading her squad in boards per contest while averaging a double-double. Her 11.7 rebounds per game puts her just behind Mist forward Breanna Stewart at second place in Unrivaled. She brought down a game-leading 12 rebounds against the Vinyl on Friday.
Reese and Stevens are logging a combined 15 rebounds per game. They ended a Saturday win over the Mist with 13 rebounds, including two on the offensive end. The Rose had narrowly won their last two battles on the boards in what would result in two losses to begin the season. Tapping into their rebounding potential, along with the combined scoring efforts that earned them a win on Saturday, will be key in the Rose adding another victory in what could be one of their biggest tests in their Unrivaled campaign.
The Rose will tip off against the Laces on Monday at 8:30 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on TNT.