The star of the Dallas Wings, Arike Ogunbowale, stole the show in the WNBA All-Star game as Team WNBA defeated the women’s Team USA 117-109. After a scoreless first half, Team WNBA coach Cheryl Miller motivated the league’s third-leading scorer in the locker room, and Ogunbowale responded with a historic third quarter. In the third quarter alone, the 5′ 8″ guard scored 21 points – the most in a quarter in WNBA All-Star Game history – by shooting 6-for-10 from the field, including 5 of 7 3-pointers and 4 of 5 free throws. Ogunbowale accounted for 58.3% of Team WNBA’s 36 third-quarter points.
She stayed hot going into the fourth quarter as she scored 13 of her 34 points – the most in WNBA All-Star Game history. Ogunbowale’s second-half scoring outburst earned the Wings’ star her second All-Star MVP award. This time in front of a crowd of 16,407 at the Footprint Center.
“Coach (Cheryl Miller) actually called me out at halftime in front of everybody was like, just take a deep breath and play your game,” the 27-year-old said after the game. “I guess you guys saw what happened.”
In 2021, Ogunbowale was snubbed from being a part of Team USA for the Tokyo Olympics. As a result, she delivered an outstanding performance by scoring 26 points as Team WNBA triumphed over the USA Basketball Women’s National Team at the AT&T WNBA All-Star 2021 in Las Vegas. This year, Ogunbowale withdrew her name from consideration for the 2024 Paris Olympics, citing concerns about the selection process being overly influenced by politics when choosing the players.
During an episode of the “Nightcap” podcast hosted by Shannon Sharpe, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and Gilbert Arenas’ podcast she went in-depth on her decision to not play for Team USA.
“Me being me, I just felt the vibes. When it comes to (the Olympic trials), it really doesn’t have much to do with your game,” she said. “It’s really about who they feel fits with the team … So I actually took my name out of the pool months ago.”
In 2021, Ogunbowale had already achieved a remarkable feat, being a three-time All-Star and earning a place on the All-WNBA First Team.
“Whether that’s USA Basketball, whether that’s All-Star teams, whether that’s First Team, and stuff like that, there’s politics … Even with the men’s (basketball teams),” she said. “There’s politics in everything, so I’m gonna just leave it at that.”
This year the US Olympic roster consisted of A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Alyssa Thomas, Napheesa Collier, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Sabrina Ionescu, Chelsea Gray and Kahleah Copper.
Caitlin Clark, like Ogunbowale, was considered a snub from the Olympic team. While she didn’t have an outstanding scoring performance like Ogunbowale, she did break the rookie All-Star assist record. Clark finished with 4 points, going 0-7 from the three-point line but added 10 assists – a rookie record and one shy of Sue Bird’s all-time All-Star Game.
“It was a lot of fun, we came in here and we competed hard,” Clark told reporters afterward. “We knew they were going to want to win so we came out with the same mindset … We started the third quarter really strong and that’s what set the tone.”
Although Clark wasn’t selected to be on Team USA, she said there was “plenty of talent on that team” and she’ll be rooting for them to capture the gold medal.
“I think it was the same four years prior, Team WNBA beat Team USA and they were perfectly fine at the Olympics,” she added. “If anything, it shows how good this league is, how much talent there is … I’m going to be supporting them and cheering them on, I love the Olympics … they’re going to win gold and dominate.”
Clark’s counter-rookie partner, Angel Reese, who has already set a WNBA record for the most consecutive double-doubles with 15 this season, became the first rookie to record a double-double in an All-Star game. She finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
This was the first time Clark and Reese, who have been competing against each other since their AAU days, played on the same team and they have hopes of playing together in the years to come.
“It’s so cool,” said Reese. “When she gets the ball I’m running to look for the ball because I know she’s going to throw it. She’s been great to play with. In the future, we’re going to be playing together a lot. Hopefully, in four years we can be on the Olympic team together.”
The New York Liberty six-time All-Star forward Breanna Stewart led Team USA with 31 points and 10 rebounds and the Las Vegas Aces six-time All-Star center A’ja Wilson added 22 points, six rebounds and three assists.
The women’s U.S. team won gold at every Olympics since 1996. Although the team lost to the WNBA All-Stars, coach Cheryl Reeve believes that this type of adversity will better prepare her team as they begin Olympic play in a London exhibition game against Germany on Tuesday before heading to France for the Summer.
“We have work to do and we know that. Sometimes the adversity is good. I don’t think we needed a game like this, per se — we know what we need to do. We just have work to do,” Reeve told reporters after the game.
The WNBA regular season will resume after the Olympics on August 15.
