DHJ Quick Take: Arike Ogunbowale Claims WNBA History vs. Sky
- A Historic Record of Triple-Threat Pace: With her first assist of the night at Wintrust Arena, Arike Ogunbowale became the fastest player in WNBA history to achieve 4,500 points, 900 assists, and 300 steals—crossing the historic threshold in just 229 games to surpass Diana Taurasi (242 games).
- The Fourth-Quarter Closing Act: After a 6-0 Chicago run cut the Wings’ cushion to a single possession late in the fourth, Ogunbowale single-handedly slammed the door, answering with back-to-back clutch triples in an 11-point frame to anchor the 99-89 victory.
- Riding Roster Flexibility as a Leader: Reflecting on her responsibilities within an overhauled locker room featuring championship veterans and elite young core pieces, Ogunbowale highlighted her evolution into a lead-by-example player.
- Dismantling Exterior Speculation: Dismissing early-season roster question marks as baseline “outside noise,” Ogunbowale reinforced that the revamped team’s internal trust has paved the way for a 3-2 start and sequential road triumphs.
CHICAGO — Arike Ogunbowale‘s first assist of the night at Wintrust Arena went into the WNBA record book. With the dish at the 9:24 mark of the first quarter Wednesday, the Dallas Wings star became the fastest player in league history to reach 4,500 points, 900 assists and 300 steals. It took her 229 games.
She finished the night with 23 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds in Dallas’ 99-89 road win over the Chicago Sky, hitting a season-high 4 of her 6 attempts from beyond the arc. Eleven of her points came in the fourth quarter, including back-to-back triples in the final two minutes that put the game out of reach.
A Career Pace That No One Has Matched
Not many WNBA players hit all three of those numbers. Doing so means scoring at a high volume, creating for others, and consistently picking off passes — three things rarely found in the same career.
Ogunbowale, 29, has been doing them in Dallas since 2019, when the Wings took her with the fifth overall pick out of Notre Dame. She’s done most of her damage as a three-level scorer and shot-maker, and her ability to push the ball has resurfaced this season — she came into Wednesday tied for the WNBA lead with DeWanna Bonner in fast break points per game at 4.3.
Through five games, Ogunbowale is averaging 17.4 points, 3.0 assists and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 41.8% from the field, 38.5% from beyond the arc and 95.5% from the free-throw line. The free-throw mark — she’s gone 21-of-22 from the line this season — would lead the WNBA over a full season. Her plus-32 on-court rating is the second-highest on the Wings behind only Jessica Shepard.
Closing It Out
Ogunbowale’s fourth quarter was the closing act of the night. Dallas led 73-64 after Odyssey Sims scored 18 seconds into the period, and the Wings pushed the lead to 87-78 on a Paige Bueckers drive through contact.
Then Chicago made its push. A 6-0 Sky run cut the lead to 87-84 with 2:32 left, with Natasha Cloud hitting two free throws to bring it to a one-possession game.
Ogunbowale answered 11 seconds later with a 3-pointer. Then she hit another with 1:42 remaining off a dribble handoff from Jessica Shepard to push the lead to 93-84. Game over.
“We closed it out really well. We looked like a top team in the league in that last fourth quarter,” Ogunbowale said. “We didn’t have a great first half, but we came out in the second half, made them call the first timeout and just put it down their throats. People on the bench came in and did what they’re supposed to do. I think we just stayed poised even when they made a little run. We got it back and just played really well in the fourth.”
Leading From the Front
The fourth-quarter takeover came on a night when Ogunbowale spoke at length postgame about her growth as a leader for a Dallas team that’s now 3-2 and riding back-to-back wins.
The roster around her looks different from what it has been in years. Shepard put up the third triple-double in Wings team history Wednesday. Alysha Clark is in her 14th WNBA season. Alanna Smith signed in the offseason after winning a championship with Minnesota. Bueckers is in her second year and has quickly emerged as one of the WNBA’s best players.
“I think just trying to lead by example,” Ogunbowale said. “Especially this year, we have a lot of great vets — Jess, Alysha, Alanna. Paige is young, but she’s a good leader as well. Just trying to lead by example, do the little things. I don’t want to slack in defense, being aggressive there, being aggressive offensively, making the extra pass, being vocal and leading by example.”
Tuning Out the Noise
Asked about Dallas’ early-season confidence level after consecutive wins, Ogunbowale was direct about where the team’s focus has been.
“I think the question marks aren’t really in our mind. That’s media and outside noise. We never had question marks about what we could do or what this roster could do,” Ogunbowale said. “There might be questions for you guys, but we never questioned what we could bring.”
The Wings entered the season as one of the league’s harder teams to project. A new front office. A new head coach in Jose Fernandez. A roster overhauled around Bueckers and Ogunbowale. Five games in, that group is figuring it out.
“It’s still early, but like she said, we’re building chemistry and coming together. We’re 3-2 right now, and we’re just going to keep going,” Ogunbowale said. “Like I said before, we really don’t worry about the outside noise. We worry about what’s in our locker room, the people that matter, and we just stick together and keep fighting every night.”
What Comes Next
Dallas continues its three-game road trip Friday against the Atlanta Dream at Gateway Center, with tip-off set for 6:30 p.m. CT on ION. The Wings then travel to face the New York Liberty before returning home for a matchup with the Las Vegas Aces.
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- ‘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
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