With two weeks remaining in the season, every player in the Athletes Unlimited (AU) Basketball 2023 is ramping up their play as they prepare for this weekend’s games—March 15, 17, and 18 in Dallas.
Jordin Canada and Theresa Plaisance, both WNBA veterans, told reporters during Monday’s weekly media call that virtually every AU player has shown improvement.
Canada’s seen improvement in her on-court confidence, she told the MSR when she and Plaisance were asked to assess their performance to date. “I feel like I’m playing like my old self,” said the guard. “I think my confidence has come back. I wanted to get back to having fun, enjoying the moment, realizing why I started playing basketball in the first place. I’m smiling more, laughing more, and getting that confidence back in my game,” she said.
Plaisance concurred with Canada, adding that playing in the AU “where it’s less structured … a new team every week, and having to be more adaptable and versatile in a lot of ways” has given her “an opportunity to be able to play freely” and has greatly helped her, she said.
“I think everybody has improved a little bit,” added Canada.
“If I have to pick one person,” noted Plaisance, “Lydia Rivers has really done a great job in these past couple of weeks.”
Rivers last week tied the Athletes Unlimited single-game record with nine offensive rebounds en route to her first AU double-double.
“I think nine offensive rebounds in a game … is absolutely incredible,” marveled Plaisance on Rivers. “Seeing her get on the floor the way that she does … she oozes positivity.”
AU last week
Plaisance is 11-for-24 from three-point range over her last four games – four made triples matched a season-high for her and is placed ninth on the AU leaderboard (3,268 points).
Canada (No. 5 on the leaderboard, 3,469 points) will carry a six-game streak of double-digit scoring into Week Four.
Guard Kierstan Bell, now third on the leaderboard, joined Odyssey Sims, NaLyssa Smith, and forward Naz Hillmon as Week Four captains. Bell posted 563 leaderboard points, and averaged 21 points a game in Week Three, including a season-high 24 points.
Last week’s results—Team Hillmon, Team Smith, and Team Sims all finished at 2-1, and Team Mitchell went winless in three games.
Through 17 games, 259 three-pointers have been made in league play—Aspiration will plant 10 trees for every three-pointer made during the season as part of its “Trees for Threes” initiative.
Minneapolis Roosevelt and Miami grad Suriya McGuire will be wearing a gold uniform this week on Team Sims—she has worn this color three times this season.
Week Four schedule at Fair Park Coliseum, Dallas:
- March 15 – Team Bell v Team Smith, 6 pm CT/Team Sims v Team Hillmon, 9 pm
- March 17 – Team Hillmon v Team Smith, 5 pm CT/Team Bell v Team Sims, 7:30 pm
- March 18 – Team Hillmon v Team Bell, 5 pm CT/Team Smith v Team Sims, 7:30 pm
