Superstar rookie Caitlin Clark, and WNBA star Arike Ogunbowale lead the WNBA All-Stars to 117-109 win over the United States Olympic team.
Arike Ogunbowale was the dominant scorer on the floor. Caitlin Clark was the best passer and Angel Reese extended her double-double streak.
Ogunbowale set the All-Star scoring record with 34 points and Clark fell just short of the assist mark in her All-Star debut. Ogunbowale was the MVP of the match.
It was the second consecutive win for the WNBA All-Star team over the Olympians. The All-Stars also won in 2021 led by Ogunbowale, who was MVP of both that game and this one.
“This is going to help us tremendously. We don’t get that many game opportunities,” said Breanna Stewart who had 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 deja vu feeling but just locking in.”
“Is Arike playing for any of these teams we are going to play?” U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve said.
Saturday’s loss came hours after the U.S. men’s Olympic team struggled to beat South Sudan in a friendly and only escaped with a point.
The U.S. women’s team will next play Germany in London for an exhibition game on Tuesday before going to France for the Olympics.
“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.”
Arike took over the game in the third quarter scoring 21 points, hitting six of her 10 shots, including five 3-pointers. The U.S. Olympic team tried but they could not stop her.
Ogunbowale has been in the U.S. national team pool for the past two Olympics, but didn’t make the roster either time. Then she pulled out this year, saying that the process was political.
It was also the first time Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark had ever played together. One of Clark’s 10 assists came to Reese, who finished 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.”
