‘This is going to help’: US Olympic team upbeat after defeat to WNBA All-Stars
The US may still have the best team at the Olympics, but they didn’t have the best players at the All-Star Game on Saturday night.
Arike Ogunbowale was the dominant scorer on the court, Caitlin Clark was the best passer and Angel Reese was her usual double-double machine as the WNBA All-Star team defeated the U.S. Olympians 117-109.
It was the second straight win for the WNBA All-Star team over the Olympic team. The All-Stars also won in 2021 under the leadership of Ogunbowale, who was named MVP of both games. On Saturday, Ogunbowale set the All-Star scoring record with 34 points and Clark fell just short of the assist mark in her All-Star debut.
“This is going to help us a lot. We don’t get that many chances in the game,” 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 improve. It was a little bit of a déjà vu feeling, but we just went into it.”
The loss was the only one the Americans suffered in 2021 en route to winning their seventh straight Olympic gold medal. The U.S. will be hoping for the same result in Paris later this month, where no team can match the depth or talent of the WNBA All-Stars.
“Does Arike play for one of the teams we’re going to play against?” American coach Cheryl Reeve asked dryly after the loss.
Saturday’s defeat came hours after the U.S. men’s Olympic team defeated South Sudan by one point in a practice match in London.
The US women’s national team will play a practice match against Germany in London on Tuesday and will compete against Belgium, Japan and Germany at the Olympic Games in Paris.
“We’ve got 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 get our attention. We know how hard it is to do what we’re trying to do and we’ve got work to do to get there.”
Ogunbowale was once again a thorn in the side of the USA team, scoring all of her points in the second half. The 2021 All-Star MVP took over the game in the third quarter, scoring 21 points, hitting six of her ten shots, including five 3-pointers. The USA team threw everything at the Dallas Wings star, but they just couldn’t stop her.
Ogunbowale said WNBA team coach Cheryl Miller said something to her during halftime about being more aggressive. “She told me to take a deep breath and go out there and play my game,” Ogunbowale said.
Ogunbowale was in the U.S. national team pool for the past two Olympics, but failed to make the cut both times. She pulled her name from the pool early this time around because the entire process was political.
By the time Ogunbowale finished in the third quarter, the WNBA All-Stars had turned a two-point halftime deficit into an 88-79 lead, breaking Jewell Loyd’s all-time All-Star scoring record of 31 from last year with a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter.
The Olympians, who were together for only two days before the competition, never really posed a threat.
With the debuts of rookie phenoms Clark and Reese, the All-Star Game generated a new level of hype and energy. The duo has taken the WNBA to new heights this season with record attendance and television ratings.
It was the first time the young stars played together. One of Clark’s 10 assists came from 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.”
Clark finished one assist shy of Sue Bird’s All-Star record.
“That’s Sue’s record. You can’t take that away from her, that’s my homey,” Clark said.
The game was played in Phoenix to celebrate the 20-year career of Mercury star Diana Taurasi and the return of Brittney Griner after her wrongful imprisonment in Russia in 2022.
“This is going to be one of the hardest things to focus on. It’s really coaching the team because of what’s happening,” Reeve said. “It’s one of the greatest spectacles, I think, in the history of our league.”
While Clark and Reese received a loud round of applause from the crowd during pre-game introductions, nothing could match the applause for Taurasi, who was playing in her 11th All-Star Game.