LAS VEGAS (AP) — Arike Ogunbowale put on a show against the U.S. national team, handing the Olympic squad a rare loss.
The game’s MVP scored 26 points to help the WNBA All-Star team beat the U.S. Olympic team 93-85 on Wednesday night.
Ogunbowale downplayed that she was trying to make a statement for not making the team headed to Tokyo next week.
“I think that shows that out of 144 players everybody’s good,” she said. “We wanted to get Team USA ready for Tokyo.
“They are representing all of us.”
It wasn’t a typical All-Star Game, with the teams playing hard on both ends of the court for the entire game from the start. Usually there isn’t much defense played until late in the fourth quarter.
“It was really competitive,” said 12-time All-Star Sue Bird. “Definitely not a typical All-Star game. Usually talk to players about trying to put on a good show and having a good time and hopefully the fans enjoy it. This, right from the tip, felt different. It had an intensity about it you could tell.”
The WNBA team led 75-73 midway through the fourth quarter before Ogunbowale had a four-point play to extend the advantage to six. The Olympic squad closed within 83-78 before Ogunbowale hit another 3-pointer and posed for the crowd, which included many current and former WNBA players and team owners.
The Olympic team cut its deficit to 91-85 and had a chance to get closer, but Courtney Williams blocked A’ja Wilson’s shot with 1:15 left and they could get no closer.
The Olympic team is a heavy favorite to win a seventh straight gold medal at the Tokyo Games.
No team they’ll meet has nearly as much talent as the WNBA All-Star team they faced.
The U.S. squad has won 49 consecutive Olympic contests dating to 1992.
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July 15, 2021 at 12:04PM
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