Phoenix — Arike Ogunbowale stood out as the top scorer on the court, while Caitlin Clark excelled as a passer, and Angel Reese delivered yet another double-double performance.
Although the U.S. Olympic team typically reigns supreme, they didn’t have all the best players on Saturday night in the All-Star Game.
Ogunbowale shattered the All-Star scoring record with 34 points, and Clark narrowly missed breaking the assist record in her All-Star debut as the WNBA team triumphed over the U.S. Olympic team 117-109.
This marks the second successive victory for the WNBA All-Star team over the Olympians. The All-Stars also clinched the 2021 game, propelled by Ogunbowale, who earned MVP honors in both contests.
“This is going to help us tremendously. We don’t get that many game opportunities,” said Breanna Stewart, who scored 31 points to lead the U.S. ”We can go back and watch the film and focus on how we can continue to be better. It was like a little bit of déjà vu feeling but just locking in.”
The Americans weren’t slowed down by the loss in 2021, eventually securing their seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal. They hope for the same outcome in Paris later this month, banking on unmatched depth and talent despite the WNBA All-Stars’ prowess.
“Is Arike playing for any of these teams we are going to play?” U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve quipped.
Saturday’s loss followed a hard-fought victory by the U.S. men’s Olympic team, who narrowly defeated South Sudan in an exhibition game in London.
The U.S. women’s team will next face Germany in London for another exhibition game on Tuesday before heading to France for the Olympics. They will be pooled with Belgium, Japan, and Germany.
“We have work to do, and we know that,” Reeve said. “Sometimes it’s good, adversity, etc. I don’t think we needed a game like this to have our attention. We know how hard it is to do what we’re trying to do, and we have work to do to get there.”
Ogunbowale once again tormented the U.S. team, netting all her points in the second half. The 2021 All-Star MVP took control in the third quarter, scoring 21 points on six of her 10 shots, including five 3-pointers. The U.S. team tried everything to stop the Dallas Wings star, but to no avail.
Ogunbowale credited WNBA team coach Cheryl Miller for her second-half surge. “She told me to take a deep breath and go out and play my game,” Ogunbowale explained.
Having been in the U.S. national team pool for the past two Olympics but not making the roster, Ogunbowale had withdrawn her name early this time, citing political reasons.
By the end of the third quarter, Ogunbowale had turned a two-point halftime deficit into an 88-79 lead for the WNBA All-Stars. She broke Jewell Loyd’s overall All-Star scoring record of 31, set last year, with a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter.
With only two days of practice together, the Olympians never truly posed a threat.
A’ja Wilson added 22 points to the All-Stars’ tally.
The All-Star Game had generated immense excitement and energy, especially with the debuts of sensational rookies Clark and Reese, who have significantly boosted the WNBA’s attendance and viewership this season.
Clark and Reese played together for the first time, with one of Clark’s 10 assists going to Reese, who ended the game with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“We knew after our little 30-minute practice yesterday that we were going to win,” Reese said. “The tone was set.”
Clark fell just one assist short of Sue Bird’s All-Star record. “That’s Sue’s record. Can’t take that from her, that’s my homey,” Clark remarked.
The game took place in Phoenix to honor Mercury star Diana Taurasi’s 20-year career and to celebrate Brittney Griner’s return from her wrongful detainment in Russia in 2022.
“This will be one of the single hardest things to concentrate on—actually coaching the team because of what’s happening,” Reeve said. “It is one of the greatest spectacles, I think, in the history of our league.”
While Clark and Reese received loud ovations during the pregame introductions, the applause for Taurasi, playing in her 11th All-Star Game, was unmatched.
Taurasi initiated the scoring with a 3-pointer from the wing in a tightly contested first half, which saw the U.S. hold a narrow 54-52 lead. However, the WNBA team took control early in the third quarter, scoring nine of the first 11 points to seize the advantage.