Arike Ogunbowale sets WNBA All-Star scoring record with 34 points in win over Team USA

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 US team’s last Olympics squad, for Tokyo in 2021, and won the All-Star MVP that year.

This year, she withdrew her name from consideration for the team, presumably under the belief that she would get snubbed again, and once again was the MVP of the All-Star Game.

She 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 going into the game was that this is the first time Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have been teammates.

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Clark and Reese have been rivals for a number of years, dating back even before their heated Iowa-LSU 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. 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 said.

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.

It took Clark until midway through the second quarter to get her first points in the game, and she finished with just four points after missing all seven three-point attempts.

Nevertheless, she 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.

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The WNBA All-Stars were coached by Hall of Fame former player Cheryl Miller.

“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.

In the postgame press conference, Ogunbowale said Miller singled her out at halftime and told her to play her game.

“They have absolutely zero answer for you,” Miller could be seen telling Ogunbowale during a break in the fourth quarter.

And Reese’s game helped endear her to the Hall of Famer.

“When I got my double-double, she was like, ‘I’m starting to like you,’ ” Reese said of Miller, with a huge grin on her face, during ABC’s postgame show.

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.

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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 lambasted her team over its defensive intensity.

“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.

Two-time WNBA champion Breanna Stewart led Team USA in scoring, with 31 points on 10-21 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.

After the game, Ogunbowale was asked what it was like to join Swin Cash, Lisa Leslie and Maya Moore as the only players who have won multiple WNBA All-Star MVPs.

“They paved the way for us, so it’s definitely dope to be in that conversation,” Ogunbowale said.

Clark was asked after the game if beating Team USA was vindication for not getting selected for the roster.

“Um, no. They’re really good. They have plenty of talent on that team,” Clark said. “Four years prior I’m pretty sure Team WNBA beat Team USA … If anything, it shows how good this league is.”

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