PHOENIX (AP) — Araik Ogunbowale dominated the floor. Caitlin Clark is a great passer. Angel Reese is her usual double double machine.
The U.S. may still have the best team in the Olympics, but in the All-Star Game, they didn’t have all of their best players on Saturday night.
Ogunbowale Set an All-Star scoring record with 34 points And Clark fell just short of the assist mark in her All-Star debut as the WNBA defeated the US Olympic team 117-109.
It was the second straight win for the WNBA All-Star team against the Olympians. The All-Stars won in 2021 led by Ogunbowale, who was MVP in both that game and this one.
“It’s going to help us a lot. We didn’t get a lot of chances,” said Brenna Stewart, who led the U.S. with 31 points. .
The loss didn’t slow the Americans down as they look to win their seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal in 2021. The US expects similar results in Paris later this month. No other team in the world could match the depth or talent the WNBA All-Stars possessed.
“Does Ariake play on any of these teams we’re going to play?” American coach Cheryl Reeve has died.
Saturday’s loss came just hours after the U.S. men’s Olympic team beat South Sudan through a point In an exhibition game in London.
The U.S. women’s team plays Germany in an exhibition game next Tuesday in London before traveling to France for the Olympics. The Americans are in a pool with Belgium, Japan and Germany.
“We have work to do, we know that,” Reeve said. “Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. I don’t think we need a game like this to grab 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.
Ogunbowale was again the thorn in the side for the US, scoring all his points in the second half. The 2021 All-Star MVP scored 21 points in the third quarter, hitting six of his 10 shots, including five 3-pointers. Team USA threw everything at the Dallas Wings star, but they couldn’t stop her.
Ogunbowale said WNBA coach Cheryl Miller said something to her at halftime about being too aggressive.
“I told myself to take a deep breath and go out and play my game,” she said.
Ogunbowale was on the US National Team for the last two Olympics, but did not make the roster both times. Saying that, this time he initially dropped his name from the players’ pool The whole process was political.
After Ogunbowale finished in the third quarter, the WNBA All-Stars overturned a two-point halftime deficit to take an 88-79 lead. He broke Jewel Lloyd’s overall All-Star scoring record of 31 last year with a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter.
The Olympians, who trained together for only two days, were not really threatening.
Aja Wilson added 22 runs.
There was a lot of excitement and energy surrounding this All-Star Game Outstanding rookie introductions by Clarke and Reese. The pair helped propel the WNBA to new heights with record attendance and viewership this season.
This is the first time the young stars have acted together. One of Clark’s 10 assists It came to ReeseFinished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“After our little 30-minute practice we knew we were going to win,” Reese said. “The tone is set.”
Clark finished with one assist on Sue Bird’s All-Star feat.
“That’s Sue’s record. “You can’t take that away from her, that’s my home,” Clark said.
The game is set in Phoenix to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of Mercury star Diana Taurasi and the 2022 return of Brittney Kreiner, who was wrongfully detained in Russia.
“It’s going to be one of the hardest things to focus on. Really coaching the team because of what’s going on,” Reeve said. “It’s one of the biggest shows in the history of our league, I think.”
While Clark and Reese received loud ovations from the crowd in their pregame introductions, nothing matched the applause for Taurasi, who was playing in his 11th All-Star Game.
He opened the scoring with a back-and-forth 3-pointer from the wing in the first half that gave the U.S. a slim 54-52 lead. That didn’t last long as the WNBA team scored nine of the first 11 points in the third quarter to take control.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
