Arike Ogunbowale rips up Team USA with All-Star record 34 points
Arike Ogunbowale broke records for the WNBA All-Star Game scoring record by scoring 34 points when the WNBA team’s victory over their U.S. Olympic squad 117-109.
By Josh Weinfuss
Jul 21, 2024 03:01 AM
Phoenix Arike Ogunbowale was at the back of the room during the end during the WNBA All-Star Game having just zero points, and the team WNBA losing by two. The coach Cheryl Miller pointed to Ogunbowale and then called her out in a surprising move.
“I wasn’t expecting her to say my name,” Ogunbowale told reporters. “She has just instructed me to breathe deeply and to play my game. “
That’s exactly what she did.
Ogunbowale broke a WNBA All-Star Game record with 34 points. He was awarded second place as the All-Star Game MVP and lead the Team WNBA to victory the game 117-109 in the match against Team USA in front of 16,407 people on the Footprint Center.
“I guess you guys saw what happened,” Ogunbowale said.
Miller’s decision to act was immediately effective. Ogunbowale scored 21 points in the third quarter. It was the highest scoring in one period of WNBA All-Star Game history. It also created the conditions for a exact identical match to how her squad and WNBA had achieved three years ago, when they beat Team USA in the first All-Star Weekend with the WNBA-USA Basketball format. Ogunbowale was also named The 2021 All-Star Game MVP with 26 points of scoring.
National team rebounded from the defeat to claim the gold medal in Tokyo.
“It was like a little bit of a deja vu feeling, honestly,” said Team USA forward Breanna Stewart who scored a stunning double-double with 30 points and 10 rebounds.
In response to a post-game question that was inadvertently referenced to an NBA instead of an WNBA, Team USA coach Cheryl Reeve quickly quipped about Ogunbowale “It was as if we were defending someone in the NBA? “
Ogunbowale was first person to take her name from the list of potential candidates for a position in the U.S. women’s national team in the spring of this year.
In the post-game news conference, the coach made an witty statement. “Is Arike playing for one of these teams we’re planning to play? ” she asked, chuckling.
Ogunbowale’s scoring of 34 points is the second-highest scoring game in the entire history in WNBA history, including the playoffs and regular season games, All-Star Games and the Commissioner’s Cup as per ESPN Stats and Information analysis. The only other exception to this was Riquna Williams scoring 35 points in the second quarter against The Tulsa Shock in a 2013 regular-season match, scoring more.
This made Ogunbowale become the only person in the history of sports to win multiple WNBA All-Star Game MVPs, alongside Lisa Leslie and Maya Moore, who each won three, along together with Swin cash who earned two.
“Those are three greats, people who paved the way for players like us,” Ogunbowale said. “That’s certainly a great honor to be part of that conversation. “
Ogunbowale’s win was the icing on the cake during the historic WNBA All-Star Game. Stewart was the first player to score a total of thirty points, with a total of 10 rebounds during the WNBA All-Star Game, and Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese became the first rookie player to achieve an unbeatable double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.
The team of Team America’s A’ja Wilson scored 22 points. Diana Taurasi added 14 points, and Brittney Griner scored 10 points.
Ogunbowale was accompanied by the Ogunbowale was joined by the WNBA with Allisha Gray’s 16 points. Nneka Ogwumike’s 14, and Kelsey Mitchell’s 13. Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark Caitlin Clark, who landed the starting spot with the most votes of all players, had 10 assists, less than Sue Bird’s All-Star Game record set three days after setting records for WNBA single-game record with 19 assists.
“That’s Sue’s record,” Clark declared. “I cannot copy this from her. It’s my home. “
Clark was asked by a journalist whether she believed that Saturday’s victory was a vindication of being omitted out of her Olympic team. Clark immediately said, “No. “
“I mean, they’re really good,” Clark said. “They had a lot of talented players within the squad. It’s a lot like to what happened three years ago. I’m pretty sure that Team WNBA defeated Team USA.
“They did an excellent job during the Olympics. According to me, their performance performed great demonstrates how successful our league actually is. “
Clark as well as Reese could connect during the fourth quarter during the fourth quarter, Clark moved to the left, after which she throw the ball bounce to Reese after Team USA center Griner picked up Clark. Reese made a layup, and she as well as Clark gave high-fives on their way back to the courts.
“I thought that they were professional, like, as anyone at this level would be,” Team WNBA forward Ogwumike said of Reese and Clark. “I’m constantly amazed by both of them. I also thought it was an enjoyable experience watching them together on this night. They were able to share lots of synergy as well as maturity, not only playing in All-Stars but also coping with the huge amount of media attention they get as rookies that are getting a lot of attention.
“And the final part is, obviously, that it was an occasion to be celebrated too. I’d like it to be thought that they had a blast today, and I’m sure the most important thing particularly for people who are first-time All-Stars is having fun in the time. They also played a role in our success as well. “
