The change from the WNBA to Unrivaled did not affect DiJonai Carrington in the slightest. Not only does the Connecticut Sun star remain one of the most lethal forwards in professional basketball, but she continues to embrace her role as a “villain” without any shame, happily doing the “dirty work” for her team.

This past Sunday, Carrington’s Mist BC faced Angel Reese’s Rose BC. Carrington was the second-best scorer on her team with 7-13 in field goals and 18 points. In addition, she grabbed nine rebounds, passed two assists, and stole two balls.

However, her most important job, according to the player herself, is to lift her team and do the dirty work when necessary. The strategy paid off as the Mist beat the Rose 71-62, with Reese, Chelsea Gray, Lexie Hull, Brittney Sykes, and Ariel Atkins having one of their worst games of the season.

Carrington is the spark plug for her teams

In the post-game press conference, Carrington said that her main job on the teams she has been on is to give her teammates a push. “I really just think that’s always been my role on teams, to bring a spark, change the momentum of the game and do the dirty things, the dirty work.”

Last season in the WNBA, Carrington became the fans’ favorite villain when she poked then-rookie sensation Caitlin Clark in the eye. Although Carrington claimed the contact was accidental, fans did not forgive her for the action, which they labeled “dirty play.”

Physical play is one of the forward’s strong points, as she demonstrated in Unrivaled against the Rose. “I think for us today, it was also trying to get downhill and just put pressure on them at the rim and make them have to run to us. And so I think that was really what I tried to come there and do, just change the pace.”

The results speak for themselves

Carrington and the Mist’s intensity paid off as they limited Reese to just eight points, her worst performance of the season; Hull scored just two, Sykes 14, and Atkins went scoreless. So Gray’s 38 points did little to help her team.

The result left the Mist at 5-7, still far behind the Lunar Owls (10-1), but on the verge of catching the Rose (6-5) and the Laces (5-6). With Carrington’s intensity and the good play of the rest of the squad, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before they take over the top spots in the standings.