WNBA All-Star Game: Arike does it again, Clark and Reese help

PHOENIX — Breanna Stewart summoned her inner Yogi Berra after Team WNBA upset Team USA at the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday night.

“It was like a little bit of a déjà vu feeling, honestly,” Stewart said.

All over again.

Saturday unfolded in an eerily similar way to the 2021 All-Star Game in Las Vegas: Team WNBA pulled off an eight-point win again, 117-109 this time. Arike Ogunbowale led all scorers, this time with a WNBA All-Star Game-record 34 points. And Ogunbowale won MVP. Again.

This year’s WNBA All-Star Game was part of a weekend that rewrote the record books. It started with Allisha Gray’s historic double win in the skills challenge and 3-point contest on Friday night to Ogunbowale’s starring role Saturday, and from Stewart becoming the first player with 30 points and 10 rebounds to Angel Reese becoming the first rookie in All-Star history with a double-double.

Here’s are the biggest takeaways from All-Star weekend as the WNBA takes a monthlong break during the Olympics.

The rookies showed out — just as they have all season

It didn’t matter that Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese were first-timers: They made a meaningful splash in their first All-Star Game and were integral contributors to Team USA’s victory. Clark had a quiet scoring night (4 points) but recorded yet another game with double-digit assists (10), a rookie record and one shy of Sue Bird’s all-time All-Star Game mark (with the all-time great looking on and apparently chirping courtside).

The maestro of double-doubles this season, Reese finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds to become the first rookie to record a double-double in an All-Star Game.

There’s little doubt a lasting memory from Saturday will be when Clark found Reese under the basket for a layup early in the third quarter, and the two high-fived while running back on defense — what could be a preview of All-Star Games, maybe even international competitions representing the United States, to come.

Now both stars — who have been under such a spotlight for over a year and have been playing nonstop since November — finally get a bit of a breather. Their two WNBA teams — ranked seventh and eighth in the standings — will duke it out for coveted playoffs spots when the games return in August. — Philippou

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A second half to remember

Ogunbowale went from zero to 34 in just 20 minutes.

After being held scoreless in the first half, Team WNBA coach Cheryl Miller called out Ogunbowale in the locker room at halftime, going as far as pointing at the Wings star and telling Ogunbowale to take a deep breath and play her game.

Ogunbowale responded by going off, scoring 21 points in the third quarter — the most in a quarter in WNBA All-Star Game history — by shooting 6-for-10 from the field, including 5 of 7 3-pointers and 4 of 5 free throws. Ogunbowale accounted for 58.3% of Team WNBA’s 36 third-quarter points.

Her 27-foot 3-pointer with 8:08 left in the third put Team WNBA ahead by three and it never looked back.

“​​As a scorer, when you see a couple go down like that, you just have all the confidence in the world,” Ogunbowale’s teammate, Caitlin Clark, said. “The basket looks really big. So, I know exactly how she felt. She was just in the zone.” — Weinfuss

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Team USA has work to do

The expressions on the faces of the U.S. national team said it all. There were no smiles postgame when commissioner Cathy Engelbert asked the crowd for a sendoff of applause as the Olympic team heads to Europe and begins its Olympic journey.

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Cheryl gonna let them have it in the locker room I fear 😭 https://t.co/Bvc9yXkvCX pic.twitter.com/dWnodWZP4h

— Bri Lewerke (@brilewerke) July 21, 2024

Team USA coach Cheryl Reeve found her team’s defense most disappointing, describing it as better than a normal All-Star Game, but that it lacked a collective effort with little help and little rim protection. Reeve lamented that her squad allowed 52 points in the paint.

No, the U.S. women won’t face Ogunbowale or a player as explosive as her in Paris, as Reeve quipped postgame. But the defensive level no doubt needs to be better for the program to take home an eighth consecutive Olympic gold.

“We didn’t come out and really compete to say we have a certain identity we’re trying to play to,” Reeve said. “I’ve got to figure that out. I’ve got to help them get there.”

While the defense was a concern, Team USA’s backcourt also wasn’t as effective as it could’ve been. Diana Taurasi had a nice night (14 points) in front of an home-friendly crowd, but Chelsea Gray, who is working her way back from a foot injury that sidelined her most of the regular season, played just 10 minutes. Jewell Loyd, who led the WNBA in scoring last season, was 0-for-3 shooting on the night. Jackie Young played fewer than four minutes in the first half, while Sabrina Ionescu was just 2-for-6 from the field.

Stewart and A’ja Wilson seemed relieved that the frenzy of the All-Star Game and weekend is now behind them. No distractions, no fanfare anymore. Now the team can lock in entirely on their USA Basketball commitments and figure out how they can come out stronger ahead of Tuesday’s exhibition in London against Germany. — Philippou

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Team USA’s ‘shifting of the guards’

Saturday made this clear: Team USA is Stewart’s and Wilson’s now.

The two dominated for the Olympic team in the loss to the Team WNBA, with Stewart recording a double-double with 31 points and 10 rebounds, and Wilson adding 22 points.

Beyond leading by their play, Stewart and Wilson have already started the leadership transition.

“We’re in, like, the shifting of the guards, if you will,” Stewart said. “A’ja and I have talked about it. It’s making sure that this is our team and we don’t let anything get past us.”

They played the most minutes on Saturday night as Team USA tried to jell and find a rhythm quickly with just one more exhibition game before the Paris Olympics.

“Throughout this entire trip, A’ja and I are going to continue to find our voices more in the locker room,” Stewart said. “It’s not time to panic but it is time to learn and grow and figure out how we can be our best together.” — Philippou