Arike Ogunbowale stole the show at the WNBA All-Star Game.
History repeated itself for the Dallas Wings guard, as the WNBA All-Stars defeated the U.S. women’s Olympic team, 117-109, at the Footprint Center in Phoenix.
Ogunbowale was snubbed for the U.S. team’s last Olympics squad, for Tokyo in 2021, and won the All-Star MVP that year.
This year, she withdrew her name out of consideration for the team, but once again was 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 started to pull away in the game.
Ogunbowale finished with 34 points, all coming in the second half.
One of the major storylines of the game was that this was the first time Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have been teammates.
Clark and Reese have been rivals for a number of years, dating back even before the heated Iowa-South Carolina NCAA Tournament games the past two years, as they played several times against each other when Reese played at Maryland as a freshman and sophomore.
They also faced off in AAU competition in high school.
During an in-game interview in the first half, Reese was asked about the first time she’s ever been teammates with Clark.
“It’s so cool. When she gets the ball, I’m running to look for the ball because I know she’s going to throw it,” Reese said. “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.”
Reese had a WNBA-record streak of 15 consecutive double-doubles earlier this season and had another one in the All-Star Game, with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
“When I got my double-double, she was like, ‘I’m starting to like you,’” a grinning Reese said during the ABC postgame show, referring to Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller who was the head coach of the WNBA team.
It took Clark until midway through the second quarter to get her first points, and she finished with just four points after missing all seven 3-point attempts.
Nevertheless, Clark made a massive impact on the game with her passing, dishing out 10 assists, one short of Sue Bird’s all-time WNBA All-Star Game record.
Miller said she was enjoying 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 up segment during the game.
“They have absolutely zero answer for you,” Miller could be seen telling 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, in stark contrast to the NBA All-Star Game, which has become a layup line.
Team USA’s coach Cheryl Reeve had an exasperated expression on her face as the WNBA All-Stars made their run. During an in-game interview in the first half, Reeve had lambasted her team over its 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 who is widely expected to win the award again this season, had 22 points and six rebounds for Team USA.
On a broadcast during the NCAA Tournament earlier this year, Diana Taurasi, the 42-year-old Phoenix Mercury veteran who is on Team USA, made remarks indicating that Clark would have a steep learning curve in the WNBA.
Taurasi and Clark exchanged a warm embrace before the game, and Clark was seen smiling when Taurasi set a screen on her in the first half.