Unrivaled’s championship game wrapped up Monday night with Rose BC taking down Vinyl BC 62-54 to become the inaugural league champions. The Fever faithful had mixed emotions going into the game, knowing that their own Lexie Hull was suiting up for Rose BC while fellow Fever star Aliyah Boston was with Vinyl BC. Either way, someone was going to walk away disappointed. But Clark wasn’t just a passive observer — and her postgame reaction sparked plenty of discussion.

Under an Instagram post from the Indiana Fever celebrating Hull and Team Rose’s championship win, her focus was on Boston, who had just fallen short. Clark commented, “You didn’t deserve this. I’m sorry.” Boston, clearly appreciative, replied with, “Thanks pookie, I really needed this pickup message from you.” While it was a heartfelt exchange between teammates, it was also telling.

Clark’s blunt approach wasn’t entirely unexpected. Earlier in the day, before the championship even tipped off, Clark hinted at how she viewed the situation. When the Fever posted about the upcoming matchup featuring two of their stars, Clark commented, “One of them bouta come back angry and one happy uh oh.” That remark already set the tone— and her postgame comment only reinforced it.

Boston’s performance in the championship was solid despite the loss. She scored 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting, grabbed four rebounds, and turned the ball over twice in just nine minutes of play. However, Vinyl BC struggled overall, shooting just 35.2% from the field and 22.2% from three-point range. Rhyne Howard led Vinyl with 22 points, but the rest of the squad couldn’t match Rose BC’s balanced attack.

On the flip side, Hull’s night was quiet — almost too quiet. She logged just four minutes, didn’t take a single shot, and finished with zero points. However, her one highlight came early in the second quarter when her assist to Brittney Sykes broke a 19-19 tie and put Rose BC ahead for good.

Instead, it was Azurá Stevens who dominated, finishing with a monster double-double of 19 points and 18 rebounds. Brittney Sykes added 21 points, and Chelsea Gray chipped in 18 with eight assists to help Rose BC pull away. Rose’s 46.6% shooting compared to Vinyl’s 35.2% made the difference, and their 11 assists to Vinyl’s five highlighted the more cohesive effort.

Finishing the season at 8-6, Rose was able to earn the second seed for the playoffs, already putting them in a good position to at least get to the championship. After taking down the No. 3 seed Laces BC by a score of 63-57, Rose made the championship and faced Vinyl, beating them 62-54.

Rose’s trailblazers: Reese and Gray lead to Unrivaled glory as Clark watches from the sidelines

However, the camaraderie doesn’t end there. Aliyah Boston, ever the good sport, wrapped up the night with a playful jab at her Fever teammate Lexie Hull. “Dinner on you maybe?” Boston tweeted. With $50,000 in championship winnings for each Rose BC player, Hull can surely afford to pick up the tab.

But the real story isn’t just about Hull or Boston — it’s about the long, winding road that Rose BC took to reach the mountaintop. Rose BC ended the regular season with an 8-6 record, finishing second in the league behind Napheesa Collier’s Lunar Owls, who rolled through the competition with a dominant 13-1 record. Rose’s path to the championship was anything but smooth. They started the season with two straight losses, including a 79-73 defeat at the hands of Vinyl BC and Boston on January 17. By January 31, they were sitting at 1-4 — and not many people were picking them to win it all.

Collier’s Lunar Owls were the overwhelming favorites, and for good reason. But in February, Rose BC flipped the script. They ripped off seven wins till the end of March, including handing the Lunar Owls their only loss of the season. That win turned the tide — and the team never looked back.

Angel Reese played a massive role in that turnaround. In Rose’s upset win over the Owls, Reese became the first player in Unrivaled history to post a 20-20 double-double, dropping 22 points and hauling in 21 rebounds. It wasn’t just about the numbers — it was about the swagger. “I think everyone just came out with an extra oomph tonight,” Reese said after the game. “We knew that they were 8-0, and no one believed in us outside of that locker room. It was just us. That’s all that matters. … It takes every petal to make the rose. And tonight, it contributed.”

Reese’s dominance didn’t stop there. Even though she re-injured her surgically repaired left hand and missed both the semifinals and the finals, her presence still loomed large. Reese was named Unrivaled Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league with 12.1 rebounds per game and anchoring Rose’s defense — the stingiest in the league, holding opponents to just 65.2 points per game. She also led Rose with eight blocked shots and set the tone for their championship mindset.

But while Reese set the defensive tone, Chelsea Gray ran the show on offense. The Point Gawd lived up to her nickname, ranking third in the league with 21.4 points per game and dishing out 5.4 assists per game — the best mark in the league. Her performance in Unrivaled mirrored her legendary 2022 WNBA Playoff run with the Las Vegas Aces, where she averaged 21.7 points, 7.0 assists, and shot a blistering 61% from the field to lead the Aces to a championship.

Gray’s ability to create open looks and control the tempo was the key to Rose BC’s late-season surge. If she carries that level of playback to the WNBA, the Aces might not feel the loss of Kelsey Plum as much as expected. The return of the Point Gawd could make Las Vegas dangerous once again.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and here’s WNBA prodigy Caitlin Bickle’s candid take on the intense Caitlin Clark vs Angel Reese rivalry and a lot more!