Dream's Gray beats Cunningham in final to win Skills Challenge

Allisha Gray of the Atlanta Dream defeated Phoenix Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham in the final of the Skills Challenge to win the first event of the WNBA's All-Star Weekend.

Cunningham, competing in front of many of her team's fans in Phoenix, opened the final with a 34.2-second time in the obstacle course before Gray completed it in 32.1 seconds. The Dream guard also had the fastest time of the night out of all five participants, posting a 31.2-second lap in the first round.

"I knew in the first round I had to at least match the time," Gray said after winning. "And I seen what time Sophie had, so I knew I had to go even faster."

It's the first time the 2017 Rookie of the Year has won an All-Star Weekend event. Gray is also participating in Friday's Three-Point Contest.

The finalists were among four guards to compete in this year's Skills Challenge, joining new Connecticut Sun player Marina Mabrey and the Indiana Fever's Kelsey Mitchell, who had to replace teammate Erica Wheeler due to flight issues as a result of Friday's global tech outage. The hometown Mercury had a second participant in center Brittney Griner, who opened the competition with a 46.3-second showing.