Tag: Allisha Gray

Allisha Gray’s $110K win during WNBA All-Star weekend had hoops fans dropping so many elite memes

Allisha Gray’s historic win sent her home with $110k and some amazing cash-related memes from hoops fans.

Allisha Gray won the 2024 WNBA All-Star Skills Challenge and the 3-point contest.

Yes, you read that right. SHE WON BOTH.

It’s the first time in the history of the WNBA All-Star game that’s happened on the same night. Big Al — not the little one! — had hoops fans captivated after she smoked the skills challenge and very shyly said, “It’s a possibility,” when asked if she could win the 3-point contest, too.

She went toe-to-toe with Jonquel Jones, who ultimately came up short near the very end. Gray’s reaction to winning is so awesome, and she more than earned it with her sharpshooting skills.

What makes the moment even sweeter is that Allisha is taking home $110,000 from Aflac ($55k for each event she won) and a ton of love from hoops fans.

They dropped so many elite memes to celebrate her big accomplishment. (Warning: NSFW language.)

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Marina Mabrey, Kayla McBride compete in WNBA All-Star events

Did you watch?

Notre Dame had some representation to tip off WNBA All-Star festivities over the next couple of days. Two of the three events held Friday in Phoenix featured that representation. Regrettably, it didn’t result in any hardware.

[autotag]Marina Mabrey[/autotag], who was traded from the Chicago Sky at her request earlier this week to the Connecticut Sun, competed in the Skills Challenge, the evening’s first event. You can’t see it that well in the video, but she fumbled a couple of times towards the end, costing her precious time:

The fumbles proved costly as she missed out on the final by two tenths of a second. All she could at that point was look to the 3-Point Contest, but she scored a contest-low 19 points:

Fellow former Irish standout [autotag]Kayla McBride[/autotag] of the Minnesota Lynx came right after her and scored enough points to stay alive:

However, she also didn’t advance to the final, so that was it for Notre Dame fans for the evening. The Atlanta Dream’s Allisha Gray wound up winning both events, becoming the first player to do so on the same night.

McBride and [autotag]Arike Ogunbowale[/autotag] will compete with the rest of the WNBA All-Stars in the All-Star Game on Saturday. They’ll be up against the U.S. Olympic team featuring [autotag]Jackie Young[/autotag] and [autotag]Jewell Loyd[/autotag].

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Hailey Van Lith joins seasoned pros on FIBA 3×3 roster ahead of Paris

The teams were composed of players various levels, including the WNBA, NCAA and Athletes Unlimited.

If you are a phenomenal player, it doesn’t matter if you are still in college or a seasoned professional player. USA Basketball was represented by two teams at the 2024 FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series opener with players from the WNBA, NCAA, Athletes Unlimited and the international level.

After winning the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, the United States is looking to repeat in Paris. Team USA consisted of Hailey Van Lith, Cierra Burdick, Lexie Hull and Rhyne Howard. The other roster, Team Springfield, boasted Allisha Gray, Cameron Brink, Dearica Hamby and Linnae Harper.

Team USA took second to Canada in the final at the Springfield stop of the series, falling short, 20-18. The teams competing in the series consisted of athletes from Canada, France, Germany and Puerto Rico.

The 3×3 game is a bit different than the 5×5 full-court basketball. For example, 3×3 is played on a half-court with a 10-minute game clock. The first team to score 21 points via 1-point field goals or 2-pointers behind the arc is victorious. If neither team reaches 21 before time expires, the team with the most points wins.

“I just like how free-flowing it is; there’s a lot of room for error,” Brink said. “If you mess up, you just have to move on to the next possession immediately.”

The FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series “offers women a chance to play 3×3 at the highest competitive level regularly, representing a unique opportunity to bring new countries and players into the limelight and to recognize the best and upcoming players in the industry.” The event culminates in a 3×3 World Cup and then the Olympic Games in Paris.

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Allisha Gray, Lexie Hull and CC Andrews earn honors at Athletes Unlimited Basketball

Athletes Unlimited Basketball wrapped Season 2 by awarding honors to the athletes.

Athletes Unlimited Basketball wrapped Season 2 by awarding honors to the athletes. NaLyssa Smith, Naz Hillmon and Odyssey Sims walked away with first through third place, respectively.

However, the awards didn’t stop there.

Allisha Gray took fourth in the league based on leaderboard points, Lexie Hull was named the Defensive Player of the Year and the 2023 Teammate of the Year Award presented by weThink was CC Andrews.

Gray is an Olympic gold medalist and currently plays for the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA, in addition to playing in Athletes Unlimited. She played with her WNBA teammate Naz Hillmon for four weeks of the Athletes Unlimited season. Points are meted out for buckets and great play on the court then tallied into leaderboard totals throughout the season. With this scoring system, Gray had 5,748 total points and shot 91.8% from the free-throw line.

The Athletes Unlimited 2023 All-Defensive Team was voted upon by players and the facilitators of the league. The All-Defensive Team included Ty Young, Jordin Canada, Natasha Cloud, Gray and Hull.

Hull was then voted as the Defensive Player of the Year. She tied for first in steals with 29 on the season and added 97 rebounds. She was the No. 6 overall pick by Indiana Fever in the 2022 WNBA draft.

Andrews won the Sportsmanship Award in the inaugural season of Athletes Unlimited Basketball in 2022 and won the 2023 Teammate of the Year Award. The Teammate of the Year Award was voted on by the players and goes to an individual who exemplifies the most growth-minded awareness of the attributes of good character, integrity and grit.

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Notre Dame product Jackie Young named to U.S. 3-on-3 Olympic team

Add another Notre Dame Olympian to Team USA.

With only a few days before the Tokyo Olympics officially begin, Notre Dame has some new blood for the U.S. Former Irish guard Jackie Young, a member of the 2018 national championship team, has been named a late addition to Team USA for the new 3-on-3 basketball event. She will take the place of Katie Lou Samuelson, who was forced to pull out after entering health and safety protocols. The other members of the team are Stefanie Dolson, Allisha Gray and Young’s Las Vegas Aces teammate Kelsey Plum.

Young, the top overall pick in the 2019 WNBA draft, is in her third season with the Aces, who are one game back of the Seattle Storm for first in the Western Conference. She has started all 21 games for the Aces while averaging 12.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals a game.

The preliminary round for the 3-on-3 competition will begin Saturday and run through July 27, which also is the day of the quarterfinals. The semifinals and finals will be played July 28. One person who will be watching is Irish coach Niele Ivey, who was associate head coach during Young’s time in South Bend: