Skylar Diggins-Smith took the court Saturday with a point to prove. Her Lunar Owls had suffered their first loss less than 24 hours earlier, and the guard wanted to make sure everyone knew they were still the team to beat at Unrivaled.
Message delivered. She went off for 25 points, 5 assists and 2 steals as the Lunar Owls beat the Laces and clinched the first playoff spot for the league’s inaugural season.
“It’s still Hootie Hoo,” Diggins-Smith yelled before running off the court, repeating what has become the Lunar Owls’ victory cry.
“I do consider myself the most competitive player here,” she told ESPN. “You always have a chance to come back, to make the game competitive. … It gives me the streetball mindset I played with as a kid.”
At 9-1, the Lunar Owls sit atop Unrivaled’s standings. Less than three weeks remain in the regular season, which launched Jan. 17 and is being played exclusively in Miami. The majority of WNBA players have traditionally headed overseas in the offseason, but the new 3-on-3 league — founded by All-Stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart — gives over three dozen of the league’s players a domestic option.
Diggins-Smith, who has typically remained in the United States to train instead of playing professional basketball…
