PHOENIX (AP) – Arike Ogunbowale was the leading scorer on the floor. Caitlin Clark was the best passenger. Angel Reese was her usual double-double machine.
The US may still have the best team in the Olympics, but they didn’t have all of their best players in the All-Star Game Saturday night.
Ogunbowale He scored 34 points Clarke came up short of an assist in her All-Star debut as the WNBA defeated the US Olympic team 117-109.
It’s the second straight win for the WNBA All-Stars over the Olympians. The All-Stars won in 2021 under the leadership of Ogunbowale, who was the MVP of both that game and this one.
“That’s going to help us a lot. We didn’t get as many opportunities to play,” Breanna Stewart, who had 31 points to lead the United States. It was like a bit of a deja vu feeling but just locking in.
In the year The loss did not slow the Americans to win their seventh straight Olympic gold medal in 2021. The United States hopes for a similar outcome in Paris later this month. No other team in the world can match the depth or talent of the WNBA stars.
“Arik, are we playing for one of these teams?” US coach Sheryl Reeve has died.
Saturday’s loss came hours after the US men’s Olympic team beat South Sudan. At one point In an exhibition game in London.
The US women’s team will play Germany in London in an exhibition game on Tuesday before heading to France for the Olympics. The Americans are in a pool with Belgium, Japan and Germany.
“We have work to do and we know that,” Reeve said. “Sometimes good, bad, etc. I don’t think we need a game like this to get our attention. We know how hard it is to do what we want and we have work to get there.
Ogunbowale again proved to be a thorn in the side for Team USA, scoring all of her points in the second half. The 2021 All-Star MVP took control of the game with 21 points in the third quarter, hitting six of her 10 shots, including five 3-pointers. Team USA threw everything at the Dallas Wings star, but they couldn’t stop her.
Ogunbowale said something to WNBA coach Cheryl Miller at halftime about being more aggressive.
“She told me to take a deep breath and go out and play my game,” she said.
Ogunbowale has been in the U.S. National Team pool for the past two Olympics, but did not sign the deal either time. At the beginning of this time, she said that she had removed her name from the group of players The whole process was political..
When Ogunbowale finished in the third quarter, the WNBA All-Stars turned a two-point halftime deficit into an 88-79 lead. She broke Jewell Lloyd’s All-Star turnover record of 31 last year by 3 points late in the fourth quarter.
The Olympians, who trained together for just two days, were not worried.
Aja Wilson added 22.
There was a lot of hype and energy surrounding this stellar game. Clarke and Reese’s first season as rookies. The pair helped the WNBA soar in attendance and viewership this season.
It was the first time the young stars played together. One of Clark’s 10 assists He came to ReeseHe finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“After our little 30-minute practice yesterday, we knew we were going to win,” Reese said. “The tone is set.”
Clark finished one assist short of Sue Bird’s All-Star record.
“It’s his record. I couldn’t take that away from her, that’s my home,” Clark said.
The game was held in Phoenix to celebrate the 20-year career of Mercury star Diana Taurasi and the return of Britney Griner in 2022 from her wrongful arrest in Russia.
“That’s going to be one of the hardest things to focus on. He’s coaching the team with what’s going on,” Reeve said. “I think it’s one of the greatest shows in the history of our league.”
While Clark and Reese received a standing ovation from the crowd during their pregame introductions, there was nothing quite like the ovation for Taurasi, who was playing in her 11th All-Star Game.
She started the scoring with a 3-pointer from the wing in a back-and-forth first half to give the USA a slim 54-52 lead. It didn’t take long for the WNBA team to take control, scoring nine of the first 11 points in the third quarter.
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