There was so much excitement surrounding the WNBA All-Star game this past Saturday at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
This was an epic game between the Women’s National Team and a team comprised of stars from the WNBA who were not on the Women’s National Team. The final score was 117-109 in favor of the WNBA.
The majority of the production came from Arike Ogunbowale, who put up insane numbers. She led all scorers with 34 points and six assists, and made WNBA All-Star history.
After her grand performance, she was named WNBA All-Star MVP for the second time in her career. In the third quarter, she had 21 points and was 5-7 from 3-point in just that quarter.
Team WNBA was led by head coach Cheryl Miller, and she gave Ogunbowale one simple piece of advice.
“She told me to take a deep breath and go out and play my game,” Ogunbowale said.
Ogunbowale did exactly that and instantly got everyone’s attention. Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese also made headlines and suited up for their first appearance as All-Stars in their rookie year.
After being rivals in college, the two were finally able to team up. Clark made history with the most assists in a game as a rookie — with one of those flashy passes down to Reese. They looked like the dynamic duo everyone had been waiting to see team up together.
“It’s so cool, when she gets the ball I’m running looking for the ball because I know she’s going to throw it,” Reese said during an interview on ESPN. “So she’s been great to play with. I mean, in the future, we’re going to be playing with each other a lot. Hopefully, in four years, we’ll be Olympians together.”
Meanwhile, Reese is fresh off 17 double-doubles in 24 games as a rookie in the regular season so far, and she carried that right over, becoming the first rookie to record a double-double in the All-Star game as well, with 12 points and 11 rebounds. No surprise there, and it’s only right that she was nominated to join the elite and play against some of the best in the league.
Reflecting on memorable moments shared with fellow players and fans, Clark expressed gratitude for the support and enthusiasm shown throughout the event.
“Such a fun first All-Star experience in Phoenix,” Clark said on X. “The fans and city were amazing. Now time for some rest and relaxation, see you all in a month.”
The regular season will resume on Thursday, Aug. 15, after the Olympic break. Although the Women’s National Team fell short, Breanna Stewart scored 31 points and secured 10 rebounds. She believes that this loss serves as an opportunity to improve before preparing for the Olympics.
“This is going to help us tremendously. We don’t get that many game opportunities,” Stewart said. “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 déjà vu feeling, but just locking in.”
They now have their eyes set on bringing back another gold medal.
2024 Paris Olympics Schedule
July 29: U.S. vs Japan 3 p.m. ET
Aug. 1: U.S. vs Belgium at 3 p.m. ET
Aug. 4: U.S. vs Germany at 11:15 a.m. ET
All games will be broadcast live on NBC.
