Arike Ogunbowale stole the show at the WNBA All-Star Game.
History repeated itself for the Dallas Wings, as the WNBA All-Stars defeated the US women’s Olympic team, 117-109, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.
Ogunbowale was named to Team USA’s final Olympic squad, for Tokyo in 2021, and won the All-Star MVP that year.
This year, he withdrew his name due to consideration for the team, but was again the MVP of the All-Star Game.
Ogunbowale caught fire in the second half, scoring 21 points in the third quarter, with 15 of them coming on three pointers, as the All-Stars began to pull away in the game.
Ogunbowale finished with 34 points, all of which came in the second half.
One of the main storylines of the game is that this is the first time that Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese become friends.
Clark and Reese have been competing for several years, dating back even before the heated Iowa-South Carolina NCAA Tournament game two years ago, they played several times against each other when Reese played in Maryland as a freshman and sophomore.
He also faced AAU competition in high school.
During an in-game interview in the first half, Reese was asked about the first time he became friends with Clark.
“It’s really good. When he got the ball, I ran to get the ball because I knew he was going to throw it,” Reese said. “He’s a great player to play with. In the future, we will play together. I hope that in four years we can be on the Olympic team together.
Reese had a WNBA-record 15 straight double-doubles earlier this season and had another in the All-Star Game, with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
“When he got the double-double, he was like, ‘I’m starting to like you,'” a grinning Reese said during ABC’s postgame show, referring to Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller who is the head coach of the WNBA team. .
It took Clark until midway through the second quarter to get his first points, and he finished with just four points after missing all seven 3-point attempts.
However, Clark made a big impact in the game at the kill, dishing out 10 assists, one shy of Sue Bird’s WNBA All-Star Game record.
Miller said he enjoyed the experience.
“I’m having fun. I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m having fun,” Miller said in a mic’ed segment during the game.
“He’s got zero answers for you,” Miller said to Ogunbowale during a break in the fourth quarter.
The game had a refreshing level of intensity, as all the players on the court were competing at full throttle, a stark contrast to the NBA All-Star Game, which had become a layup line.
Team USA coach Cheryl Reeve had an annoyed expression as the WNBA All-Stars trotted off. During his in-game interview in the first half, Reeve criticized his team for their defensive intensity.
Two-time WNBA champion Breanna Stewart led Team USA in scoring, with 31 points on 10-for-21 shooting from the field.
A’Ja Wilson, the two-time WNBA MVP expected to win again this season, had 22 points and six rebounds for Team USA.
In a broadcast during the NCAA Tournament earlier this year, Diana Taurasi, a 42-year veteran of the Phoenix Mercury who is on Team USA, stated that Clark will have a steep learning curve in the WNBA.
Taurasi and Clark exchanged a warm hug before the game, and Clark was seen smiling as Taurasi set a screen on him in the first half.
