Paige Bueckers was not happy with the way her 1-on-1 matchup with Chelsea Gray ended. The two met in the quarterfinals after beating Natasha Cloud, Kate Martin, Jackie Young, and Arike Ogunbowale. Gray got off to a quick lead. When the veteran was up 9-2, she made a move to get into a free-throw line jumper. Bueckers was called for a foul, which the refs deemed a shooting foul much to Bueckers’s dismay. She was visibly upset, and her reaction quickly went viral on social media.
Gray broke down the situation when she appeared on Sue Bird’s podcast Bird’s Eye View.
“They let some stuff go, but that foul, she did try to foul me on the floor,” Gray said. “They didn’t call it, and then I went into my shot, and she still tried to get the foul, and then they called it. So, the timing in which the refs called the foul; it was a shooting foul when she fouled, but she tried to do it earlier.”
Losing that game to Gray and not making it to the semifinals cost Bueckers $25,000. Unrivaled went all out with the prize money for this tournament. The two losers of the semifinals made $25,000 each, while the winner earned $200,000 and the runner-up secured $50,000. That is more than many players make in a whole WNBA season.
Chelsea Gray went on to win the tournament
Beating Bueckers was only one of many victories for Gray during the 1-on-1 tournament. She also took down Natasha Cloud and Jackie Young and beat Kelsey Plum in the semifinals. Last but not least, Gray beat Allisha Gray in a thrilling—and tiring—three-game finals on a clutch 3-pointer and added another accomplishment to her already stacked resume.
Allisha Gray said it best after the finals: if she had to lose, at least she lost to the Point Gawd. The 1-on-1 tournament is difficult because some great players will inevitably leave the games unhappy, embarrassed, and upset, but, most of the time, there is no shame in losing to other great players. Chelsea Gray is one of the most decorated players in the game, and losing to her doesn’t take anything away from someone’s talent. But Bueckers is a competitor, so her reaction when she felt like the refs robbed her of an opportunity to battle her way back into the game is understandable.
Although she lost to Gray, Bueckers still got a statement win in the second round when she beat Arike Ogunbowale. Ogunbowale is one of the most prolific scorers in the WNBA and was the only guard who advanced to the semifinals in last season’s tournament.