DHJ Quick Take: Arike Ogunbowale Dismisses ‘Chitter Chatter’ as Wings Show Identity vs. Mystics
- Rejecting the Course-Correction Narrative: Arike Ogunbowale firmly pushed back on the idea that Dallas overcame a two-game losing streak, framing the 92-69 rout of Washington as the baseline standard she expected out of the group from day one.
- Practice Block Cures Camp Absences: Ogunbowale cited a rare weekend block of two team practices as the catalyst for the turnaround, noting that the extended session allowed a roster hindered by late training camp arrivals to finally iron out communication errors and defensive rotations.
- Accelerating Through Game Tape: Rather than dwelling on negative momentum, the veteran guard highlighted a constructive film study session following Thursday’s 90-86 home loss to the Minnesota Lynx as the most valuable asset in making structural adjustments.
- Deepest Roster Contextualized: In her seventh season with the franchise, Ogunbowale praised the organization’s depth and collective alignment under Head coach Jose Fernandez, highlighting the front office and multi-tiered ownership investment as pivotal to building a sustainable winner.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Arike Ogunbowale has been with the Dallas Wings since 2019, long enough to know what an early-season group looks like as it starts to come together. After the Wings routed the Washington Mystics 92-69 on Monday at College Park Center, the guard described Monday’s performance as the version of the team she had been expecting.
The win was confirmation, she said, not a turnaround.
“This is what we envisioned us looking like, and we just gotta keep that up,” Ogunbowale said.
Ogunbowale finished with 16 points, 3 assists and a season-high 3 steals, hitting all 6 of her free throws in 33 minutes. She started the night by picking the pocket of Kiki Iriafen for the game’s first basket, scored seven of the Wings’ first nine points in a third quarter that broke the game open, and closed the homestand with the most complete performance of the young season for a team now even at 2-2.
A Group That Has Been Building Toward This
The Wings held two practices over the weekend, their first extended stretch of practice time all season. Ogunbowale pointed to those days as the foundation for what showed up Monday.
“I know there was a lot of chitter chatter about everything that happened in the first three games,” Ogunbowale said. “Unfortunately, a couple of us missed training camp, but big pieces. So just having the practice that we were able to have these last couple days and honing in on the things that we need to do on communication, on defensive rotations, on offensive plays, late clock, just all little things that you really do in training camp that we didn’t have much time to do with our whole team, that really helped us.”
She said the team’s standard comes from inside the locker room, where the expectations are clear.
“Honestly, we’re not worried about what people think about the locker room,” Ogunbowale said. “It’s just what we think about ourselves. We know our standard. We know what coach wants us to do. We know what we expect from ourselves, and I think we showed that tonight, so we just gotta continue that.”
Finding Value in the Minnesota Lynx Loss
Ogunbowale said the most useful film of the week came from the Wings’ previous game, a 90-86 home loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday.
“Even though that loss to the Lynx was unfortunate, I think with that film session, we learned so much that we might not have learned if we would’ve ended up winning that game,” Ogunbowale said. “So just seeing what we did wrong and correcting that, I think we really corrected that today.”
A Team That Can Score From Every Position
The Wings dished out a season-high 30 assists on 33 made baskets Monday, with 10 players scoring. Ogunbowale said the ball movement is a sustainable identity rather than a single hot night.
“That we can just score from every position,” Ogunbowale said. “I think we can have a lot of those games where the assists to how many buckets we have is really high because if you don’t have a shot, your next player has a shot and they’re more than likely gonna knock it down. So just moving the basketball. I think the last couple games we kinda didn’t do that as much. But definitely here, moving the basketball and making the other teams guard. With the type of offensive players we have, it’s gonna be really tough for people to guard us every night.”
One of the Deepest Rosters She Has Seen
Now in her fifth coaching staff in Dallas, Ogunbowale put Monday’s group in context against the many rosters she has seen come through the franchise.
“Yeah, for sure. This is one of the deepest,” Ogunbowale said. “And I’ve said this earlier, it’s a lot of people who wanna be here. We just have a group that wants to be here, wants to win, wants to get in line with what Jose has. So I think Dallas is in a really good position, and we just gotta keep getting better from the bottom to the top.”
She pointed to ownership, the front office, and the coaching staff as part of the investment that has shaped the current roster.
“Ownership between [Greg Bibb], who’s been here for a while, [Curt Miller], new here, [Jasmine Thomas], [Travis Charles], [Bill Cameron], they’ve all been invested in what we needed for this team, to the training staff, to the coaching staff, and everything,” Ogunbowale said. “So I think Dallas is in a really good position, and we just gotta keep getting better from the bottom to the top. Communication too.”
Setting the Standard
The Wings now leave on a three-game road trip, Wednesday against the Chicago Sky, with stops in Atlanta and New York to follow before a return home to face Las Vegas. Ogunbowale said the standard set Monday is now the baseline.
“We can’t take a step back now. We gotta keep that going,” Ogunbowale said. “But this is what we envisioned us looking like, and we just gotta keep that up.”
Up Next
The Wings open their three-game road trip Wednesday against the Sky at 8 p.m. CT.
More Wings Coverage on Dallas Hoops Journal
- ‘We Just Stayed Connected’: Paige Bueckers Breaks Down Dallas Wings’ Complete Two-Way Response vs. Washington Mystics
- ‘Flying Around And Covering’: Rebuilt Defense Sparks Dallas Wings’ 92-69 Blowout Of Washington Mystics
- Dallas Wings Prepare To ‘Match That Energy’ Against Washington Mystics In Duel Of Young Teams
- ‘He’s A Wonderful Coach’: Dallas Wings Players Back Jose Fernandez After His Accountability Comments
- Azzi Fudd Says UConn Play Calls Still ‘Ingrained’ As She Adjusts To Dallas Wings’ System
- Dallas Wings Use Rare Practice Days To Reset Defense, Game-Plan For Washington Mystics
- Dallas Wings Practice Interviews: Azzi Fudd, Alysha Clark And Jose Fernandez (May 17, 2026)
- Paige Bueckers Says Wings’ Mistakes Are ‘Fixable’ As Dallas Cleans Up Before Washington Mystics
- Arike Ogunbowale Sees ‘A Lot To Learn’ From Dallas Wings’ 1-2 Start
- Dallas Wings Target Pick & Roll Defense, Ball Movement And Late-Game Execution In ‘Very Spirited’ Practice Before Washington Mystics
