Arike Ogunbowale and Caitlin Clark lead WNBA All-Stars to 117-109 win over U.S. Olympic team

  

Soaring viewership, surging media attention, and an electrifying rookie class featuring standouts Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese marked the strongest first half of the WNBA season since the league's 1997 inception.

Talks to finalize a "historic" WNBA media deal that press reports suggest would be around $200 million a year, up from $60 million currently, reinforces the rising popularity of the league and women's professional sports in general, Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said on Saturday.

With Saturday's WNBA All-Star Game followed by a month-long Olympic break, players, league executives, and media partners are hoping for the momentum to carry through to the second half of the season.

"This weekend is the culmination of a historic first half of the season," Engelbert told reporters on Saturday.

"We have seen our highest attendance in 26 years, repeatedly set viewership records. A lot of our teams are up triple digits in attendance."

The television audience has topped records, with 16 games averaging more than 1 million viewers, breaking the full-season record just halfway through the current one, she said.

Fan voting for All-Star game players jumped over 600% from last year while merchandise sales have hit historic highs.

Credit interest in the most stellar WNBA rookie class in recent memory, led by sharpshooting and passing wizard Caitlin Clark and scoring and rebound phenomenon Angel Reese, who carried over a heated college hoops rivalry that has only intensified.

The two will be teammates for the first time ever for Saturday's All-Star matchup, taking on a Team USA squad featuring WNBA MVP frontrunner A'ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, and others.

With the influx of young talent to challenge experienced veterans, hyper-competitive games have helped to attract new fans.

"The play on the floor has been exactly what we had hoped for with great matchups ... We've seen the ratings play out in a big way, not only when Caitlin Clark is playing but when other teams are playing as well," former WNBA star and current broadcast analyst Rebecca Lobo told reporters.

"The anticipation of this current season was similar to back when the league started and that has translated into ticket sales and people tuning into television."

Arike Ogunbowale set the WNBA All-Star scoring record with 34 points and Caitlin Clark made the most of her All-Star debut as the WNBA team beat the U.S. Olympic team 117-109 on Saturday night.

It was the second consecutive win for the WNBA All-Star team over the Olympians. The All-Stars also won in 2021 led by Ogunbowale, who was MVP of both that game and this one.

That loss was the only one that the Americans had in 2021 en route to winning their seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal. The U.S. hopes for the same results in Paris later this month. No team in the world could match the depth or talent that the WNBA All-Stars had.

Saturday’s loss came hours after the U.S. men’s Olympic team rallied to beat South Sudan by one point in an exhibition game in London.

The U.S. will next play Germany in London for an exhibition game on Tuesday before going to France for the Olympics. The Americans are in a pool with Belgium, Japan and Germany.

Ogunbowale once again was a thorn in the side of the U.S. 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 10 shots, including five 3-pointers. The U.S. team threw everything at the Dallas Wings star but they just couldn’t stop her.

Ogunbowale has been in the U.S. national team pool for the past two Olympics but didn’t make the roster either time. She pulled her name out of the pool of players early this time around saying the whole process was political.

By the time Ogunbowale was done in the third quarter, the WNBA All-Stars had turned a two-point halftime deficit into an 88-79 lead. She broke Jewell Loyd’s overall All-Star scoring record of 31 set last year with a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter.

The Olympians, who have only practiced together for two days, never really threatened. Breanna Stewart scored 31 points and A’ja Wilson added 22.

There was so much hype and energy around this All-Star Game with the debuts of phenomenal rookies Clark and Angel Reese. The pair have helped lift the WNBA to new heights this season with record attendance and viewership.

It was the first time the young stars had ever played together. One of Clark’s 10 assists came to Reese, who finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The game was put in Phoenix to celebrate the 20-year career of Mercury star Diana Taurasi and the return of Brittney Griner from her wrongful detainment in Russia in 2022.

“This will be one of the single hardest things to concentrate on. Is actually coaching the team because of what’s happening,” U.S. coach Cheryl Reeve said. “It is one of the greatest spectacles, I think, in the history of our league.”

While Clark and Reese were given loud ovations from the crowd in pregame introductions, nothing matched the applause for Taurasi, who was playing in her 11th All-Star Game.

She got the scoring started with a 3-pointer from the wing in the back-and-forth first half which saw the U.S. hold a slim 54-52 lead. It didn’t last long as the WNBA team scored nine of the first 11 points in the third quarter to take control.

The 2024 WNBA All-Star Game came and went on Saturday night, and Team WNBA pulled off the upset over Team USA. Made up of All-Stars who didn't make the USA Women's National Team, Team WNBA played with a chip on their shoulder and got the win.

Most eyes were on Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, who were playing on the same team for the first time in their careers. But it was Arike Ogunbowale who stole the show, setting an All-Star Game record with 34 points, all of which came in the second half.

Angel Reese shares her excitement about playing with Caitlin Clark

The Dallas Wings guard had zero points going into halftime, but she went on an insane scoring run in the 3rd quarter, pouring in 21 points and then 13 in the final quarter. Unsurprisingly, she was named All-Star Game MVP, and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes couldn't help but notice.

Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese lead Team WNBA to upset over Team WNBA

Although Ogunbowale took the plaudits, Clark and Reese more than did their part. Clark set a rookie record for assists in an All-Star Game with 10, and Reese notched her trademark double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Breanna Stewart and A'ja Wilson were Team USA's best players, per usual. Stewart scored a whopping 31 points and Wilson got 22, but it wasn't enough for the National Team, who will now travel to Paris for the Olympics.

Angel Reese has had no issues getting used to the rigors of the WNBA. Following an incredible collegiate career, Reese has quickly established herself as a Rookie of the Year contender and was selected for the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game.

Reese is known for making statements both on and off the court, and the All-Star Game was no exception. The Chicago Sky player stunned everyone with another eye-catching look during her arrival at the arena for the game.

Angel Reese shows up for the WNBA All-Star Game with trademark confidence and stunning look

Angel Reese dominates on the boards in the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game

While being filmed sporting her impressive outfit, Reese was asked how she was feeling ahead of the game, and she responded in classic Reese fashion: "Like a baddie, like a Barbie".

Reese then got to work on the court, establishing herself as the same postgame menace she had been all season. She grabbed five offensive rebounds in the first half, setting the tone for Team WNBA.

Reese ended the game with a double-double, scoring 11 points and getting 11 rebounds.

Caitlin Clark delivered the pinpoint passes. Angel Reese supplied the hustle and rebounding.

The two WNBA rookies made life difficult for the U.S. Olympic team on Saturday night. Someday soon, the duo might be the ones providing the highlights for the red, white, and blue.

Clark finished with a team-high 10 assists while Reese added 12 points and 11 rebounds in the WNBA All-Stars’ 117-109 victory over the Americans during All-Star weekend. The U.S. used the game as a tune-up for the Paris Olympics, which begin next week.

The Clark-Reese rivalry is arguably the biggest story in women’s basketball over the past three years, boosting the sport’s popularity as the two stars moved from college to the professional ranks. On the same team for the first time, they proved the could share the ball: Clark’s 10th assist of the evening came on a nifty bounce back to Reese in the fourth quarter.

Clark and Reese — both just 22 years old — continually played at a breakneck pace on offense, catching the U.S. a step slow multiple times. Clark pushed the ball up the court on nearly every possession while Reese’s muscle and athleticism created a force that the national team couldn’t always handle.

Clark’s excellent passing offset a tough shooting night. She finished 2 of 9 from the field, including 0 of 7 on 3-pointers, to finish with four points.

The 6-foot-3 Reese made her presence felt late in the first quarter, crashing hard for an offensive rebound and a putback that gave the WNBA All-Stars a 24-23 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Less than a minute into the second, it was Clark with two big moments in a row, beating the press on the fast break before finding Aliyah Boston for a bucket. Clark was back at it on the next possession, firing up the court to Jonquel Jones for another close-range basket.

Clark broke the WNBA record with 19 assists in a game earlier in the week.

Women’s hoops legend Cheryl Miller coached the WNBA All-Stars. She started Clark while Reese came off the bench, but both players closed the game after their effectiveness on the court

This year’s All-Star Game was in a similar format to three years ago, when Arike Ogunbowale scored 26 points to earn MVP honors and lead the WNBA All-Stars over the U.S. 93-85. Ogunbowale was the star again on Saturday, scoring 34 to earn MVP honors once again.

The WNBA All-Stars Defeat Team USA 117-109 in 2024 WNBA All-Star Game #WNBA #paris2024 #lmsnetwork #wnbaallstar #caitlinclark #angelreese
MVP: Arike Ogunbowale (34 Points) pic.twitter.com/cG8gGv8NyK

— LegacyMaker Sports Network (@LegacyMakerSPN) July 21, 2024