MIAMI — Skylar Diggins-Smith connected with DiJonai Carrington from beyond the arc and hit a shot to win the first game in Unrivaled history.

As the ball whizzed by, Diggins-Smith ran across the court, her Lunar Owls teammates chasing her in celebration as they beat the Misty 84-80 on Friday night.

"It was a very exciting atmosphere," Diggins-Smith said at center court. "Tonight we're going to celebrate that."

The "winning score" in the new 3-on-3 Women's Basketball League is determined by adding the leading team's scores over the three quarters to 11 points. This means that every match will be decided by the match winner.

But this game is every bit as good as Unrivaled dreamed it would be in its first game.

“This is everything we hoped for,” said Napheesa Collier, a Lunar Owls player and league co-founder. "I think it's a great first game that shows what we can do and what the experience is like."

Unrivaled's first night sold out of the 870-seat MediaPro Center venue. A few hours before the kickoff, fans lined up in a long line in the drizzle to enjoy the fan activities prepared by the league. Inside, Hall of Famer Steve Nash and American soccer star Alex Morgan sat courtside. The stands were dotted with WNBA executives.

In such a small space, players said it felt like the crowd was "on top of us." And playing at a neutral site, there is no home field advantage.

Jewell Lloyd likened the energy in the building to a game of catch. Collier said it was like a high school basketball tournament. Chelsea Gray says it goes beyond both analogies.

"It was like the fans were right there on the court," said Gray, whose Roses lost 79-73 to the Vinyls in the night's second game. "Whether there's music or not, there's always a lot of energy during the different games. I really love that atmosphere. Everybody wants to see good basketball."

Collier added: "Of course (the fanfare) is a distraction; it's opening weekend. But we've been in a situation where there's a lot going on - playing in finals, playing in college games, playing in championship games. As a pro Players, you can stop it."

Instead of the half-court games in Olympic 3x3 basketball, Unrivaled uses a compact full-court game, resulting in a fast-paced game.

But players said they weren't too surprised because it was the same style and pace they experienced in training camp and the preseason.

"There's really no time when you can have the ball. There's only three players on the field," Gray said. "It's a little different from that perspective. But you have to be in good shape to play this game."

Team Smoky Owl and Team Moon Owl shot a total of 130 times; Team Vinyl and Team Rose shot 126 times. Lloyd scored 34 points (23 in the first half), while Vinyl's Rhyne Howard scored 33 points.

Players noted that these shots were not out-of-character shots but were required by the game, with each team having only three players on the court at a time.

"It's been really fun. We've been practicing, scrimmaging, so it's been really fun to go out in front of a live crowd," Collier said. "Just enjoying the experience of playing the game. There's a lot of fan fairs, but once the ball goes up, we're out there playing basketball."