The Three-Point Contest, which is traditionally one of the highlights of both the NBA and WNBA All-Star celebrations, was held during halftime of the WNBA All-Star Game in Las Vegas on Wednesday night. The four participants were Jonquel Jones, Allie Quigley, Sami Whitcomb, and Jewell Loyd, and they all put on a show, with Jones leading the way in the first round with a stunning performance, scoring 27 points to advance to the final round.
Whitcomb scored 26 points to put pressure on the contest’s two-time champion, Allie Quigley of the Chicago Sky, who responded with 27 points to advance to the finals versus Jones on the last rack’s final moneyball. Jones got off to a slow start in the finals, but she caught fire when she needed to on the moneyball rack, hitting one of the Dew Zone three-pointers to finish with a respectable 24, but once Quigley got going, it was automatic as she ran away on the final rack to beat Jones with 27 and win her third Three-Point Contest title.
It’s one of the most beautiful things in basketball to see an excellent shooter get into a rhythm, and once Quigley did, it felt like everything was coming into place. Jones’ reaction was especially strong when she saw Quigley mowing down the moneyball rack, as she could see the Three-Point Championship slipping away from her and there was nothing she could do about it. After the win, Quigley’s wife, fellow Sky teammate and WNBA All-Star Courtney Vandersloot, was extremely ecstatic, eliciting a huge reaction.
As usual, it was a great game with a lot of late drama in both rounds, with Quigley demonstrating why she’s one of (if not THE) finest shooters in the WNBA and Jones turning heads with her shooting prowess from the center position.
