Eighth-seeded Aaliyah Edwards advanced to the semifinals of the Unrivaled 1-on-1 tournament by beating Allisha Gray in the quarterfinals Tuesday night.
Edwards, who had the most surprising win of the opening round by shutting out top seed Breanna Stewart, had a bye in the second round. Having the extra rest certainly helped against Gray, who beat Kahleah Copper in the second round.
“Shouldn’t be surprised,” Edwards said. “Played my first year in the league, now I’m tapping into myself, and the confidence is showing and the work is showing.”
She’ll be joined in the semifinals Friday night by two other ex-UConn players — Napheesa Collier and Azura Stevens. The former college teammates will face off in one of the matchups. Edwards will play Arike Ogunbowale in the other contest.
By reaching the semifinals, each of the four players is guaranteed $25,000. The winner of the tournament will receive $200,000 and the runner-up gets $50,000. The winner’s Unrivaled teammates each get $10,000.
The finals will be a best-of-three series with the winning score for each game at 11. Each game has traditional scoring with baskets worth either two or three points. Rounds up until the final are single-elimination.
Three of the four quarterfinals matchups featured WNBA…
