Arike Ogunbowale Returns to Notre Dame as Wings Begin New Chapter: “It’s Special”

For Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale, the memories came rushing back when she stepped into Purcell Pavilion. The blue floors. The shamrocks. The championship banners. Just being back on campus brought her college days at Notre Dame into focus.

“It comes back a lot,” Ogunbowale said. “I mean, winning the championship, the environment, the blue floors, the shamrock—just everything.”

Ogunbowale, who etched her name into NCAA history with a pair of buzzer-beaters to win the 2018 national title, said those moments always find their way back around each spring.

“Every March Madness, it comes across my timeline. I get tagged in it,” she said. “So it’s always good to see and just know that I was a part of history with that team.”

Friday night marked a full circle as the Dallas Wings prepared to face the Las Vegas Aces in the first nationally televised preseason game in WNBA history, airing on ION. The setting at Notre Dame added an emotional layer for Ogunbowale, Jewell Loyd, and Jackie Young, all former Irish standouts.

“Just coming to South Bend and being able for my teammates to come support this,” Ogunbowale said. “Seeing the fans—for me, Jackie, and Jewell—just seeing our old fans, our old coaches. Playing somewhere we grew up at, where we became who we were.”

Entering her seventh WNBA season, Ogunbowale is coming off one of her most complete years yet. She averaged 22.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.1 assists while earning her second WNBA All-Star Game MVP. The league has tested her every season.

“It’s just a competitive league,” she said. “A lot of great players. Just how skilled and smart the players are—from a scoring standpoint, especially.”

She’s maintained her place among the elite scorers in the game by staying consistent with her preparation and drive.

“I think it’s just a testament to hard work and just grinding it out every year—every offseason—trying to get better,” she said. “And trying not to drop off in competition. Just being better every year.”

Ogunbowale said she’s proud to see Niele Ivey leading the Notre Dame program now, noting that Ivey’s example has continued to resonate in the league.

“She’s a hard worker,” Ogunbowale said. “We come from hardworking women as coaches back when we were at Notre Dame. And I think that transferred to the WNBA. She’s still one of the hardest workers I know—just like everybody that went here back in the day. I’m glad that she’s really successful in the league now.”

She also remains a regular viewer of Notre Dame games during the WNBA season.

“Yeah, I watch them all the time,” she said. “That’s probably the most college basketball I watch—when I’m playing, I watch Notre Dame.”

That connection extended to former Irish guard Olivia Miles during her recovery from a knee injury.

“I checked up on her,” Ogunbowale said. “She was always good, though. She’s a very God-driven, faithful woman. So she knows everything happens for a reason, and she’s always going to be good.”

While Friday’s preseason game is technically a tune-up, Ogunbowale said the emotions of being back in South Bend add a layer of meaning.

“I haven’t played there since my last game as a senior,” she said. “You don’t really think you’re ever going to be able to come back and play in front of the fans again. So the fact that they’re doing that for us in preseason and finding the time—it’s special.”

Still, she’s approaching it like any other game.

“Just like I do if this were a WNBA championship,” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s still training camp. We’re still playing everybody. So there’s nothing really on this game. I’m just treating it as a special game, a special night—but there’s no pressure.”

The Wings enter this season with a new head coach, a rookie-heavy roster, and a fresh identity in the making. Ogunbowale said the chemistry is starting to come together.

“We’re building it each day,” she said after Thursday’s practice. “I think by May 16th we’ll be good to go, but we’re building it each day, for sure.”

A major part of that build is her backcourt partnership with No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers. Through the first week of camp, the two have shared ball-handling duties, often rotating between initiating and playing off the ball.

“I’ve always been more of an off-ball type of player, so she’s a great on-ball,” Ogunbowale said. “And, you know, when I take it down, she goes off the ball. So it’s definitely—we have a good little thing going right now, and I think it’s gonna be really good this season.”

She added that competition across the Wings’ roster has been evident from Day 1.

“Everybody’s been real competitive,” she said. “They know it’s going to be a tight roster. People have to get cut. So people have been coming really hard and prepared each day, and it’s been good.”

Her goals for 2025 remain consistent with the standards she’s set each season.

“Just be better than last year,” she said. “That’s always the goal—more wins than last year. Better stats than last year. But mostly, just more wins.”

Asked if she could believe how long she’d already been in the league for what will be seven seasons, Ogunbowale paused and smiled.

“Sometimes when my knees hurt,” she said with a laugh. “But other times, not really. Here and there.”

Friday night will offer the Wings their first true look at how this new group fits together in game action. They will play against a talented and experienced Aces squad on the national stage and in the place where it all began for Ogunbowale.