Arike Ogunbowale set the WNBA All-Star scoring file with 34 factors and Caitlin Clark made probably the most of her All-Star debut because the WNBA staff beat the U.S. Olympic staff 117-109 on Saturday night time.
It was the second consecutive win for the WNBA All-Star staff over the Olympians. The All-Stars additionally gained in 2021 led by Ogunbowale, who was MVP of each that sport and this one.
That loss was the one one the Individuals had in 2021 en path to profitable their seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal. The U.S. hopes for a similar ends in Paris later this month. No staff on the planet may match the depth or expertise the WNBA All-Stars had.
Saturday’s loss got here hours after the U.S. males’s Olympic staff rallied to beat South Sudan by one level in an exhibition sport in London.
The U.S. will subsequent play Germany in London in an exhibition sport Tuesday earlier than going to France for the Olympics. The Individuals are in a pool with Belgium, Japan and Germany.
Ogunbowale as soon as once more was a thorn within the aspect of the U.S. staff, scoring all of her factors within the second half. The 2021 All-Star MVP took over the sport within the third quarter scoring 21 factors, hitting six of her 10 pictures, together with 5 three-pointers. The U.S. staff threw all the pieces on the Dallas Wings star, but it surely simply couldn’t cease her.
Ogunbowale has been within the U.S. nationwide staff pool for the final two Olympics however didn’t make the roster both time. She pulled her title out of the pool of gamers early this time round saying the entire course of was political.
By the point Ogunbowale was finished within the third quarter, the WNBA All-Stars had turned a two-point halftime deficit into an 88-79 lead. She broke Jewell Loyd’s total All-Star scoring file of 31 set final yr with a three-pointer late within the fourth quarter.
The Olympians, who’ve solely practiced collectively for 2 days, by no means actually threatened. Breanna Stewart scored 31 factors and A’ja Wilson added 22.
There was a lot hype and power round this All-Star Sport with the debuts of phenomenal rookies Clark and Angel Reese. The pair have helped raise the WNBA to new heights this season with file attendance and viewership.
It was their first time the younger stars had ever performed collectively. One in every of Clark’s 10 assists got here to Reese, who completed with 12 factors and 11 rebounds.
The sport was put in Phoenix to rejoice the 20-year profession of Mercury star Diana Taurasi and the return of Brittney Griner from her wrongful detainment in Russia in 2022.
“This will likely be one of many single hardest issues to focus on. Is definitely teaching the staff due to what’s occurring,” U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve mentioned. “It is likely one of the best spectacles, I believe, within the historical past of our league.”
Whereas Clark and Reese got loud ovations from the group in pregame introductions, nothing matched the applause for Taurasi, who was enjoying in her eleventh All-Star Sport.
She received the scoring began with a three-pointer from the wing within the back-and-forth first half that noticed the U.S. maintain a slim 54-52 lead. It didn’t final lengthy because the WNBA staff scored 9 of the primary 11 factors within the third quarter to take management.
