Twice in the past four years, a group of WNBA All-Stars has faced off against Team USA in an exhibition before the Olympics. And each time, the Olympians have been torched by Arike Ogunbowale.
The Dallas Wings guard – who said earlier this summer that she removed herself from Olympic consideration due to “politics” – won her second WNBA All-Star Game MVP award on Saturday night by scoring an all-star record 34 points, leading Team WNBA past Team USA, 117-109.
Ogunbowale shot 8-of-13 from 3-point land and was simply unstoppable in the third quarter, scoring 21 of her points in that period.
At some point in the fourth quarter, the folks on Team WNBA tried to sub Caitlin Clark in for Ogunbowale, but the rookie refused. She sat back and watched the Notre Dame product cook like the rest of us.
In a pair of interviews, Clark – herself no stranger to scoring boatloads of points from beyond the arc – explained by Ogunbowale is the best one-on-one player in the league.
Caitlin Clark talked about watching Arike go off. pic.twitter.com/T8Y5htc408
— Kareem Copeland (@kareemcopeland) July 21, 2024
“She just has that skill. She can get whatever shot, whenever she wants it. That’s how good she is with the ball. It was fun to watch. That was exciting for me.”
“She is probably the best 1 on 1 player in our league.”
Caitlin Clark with high praise for Arike Ogunbowale 🔥
pic.twitter.com/bpFhJbgBWx— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 21, 2024
“Oh my goodness. Arike is starting to feel it, get her the ball… She’s pretty dang good.”
Clark dished out a rookie All-Star Game record 10 assists, a few of which resulted in Ogunbowale 3-pointers.