When she walked off the Purcell Pavilion court for the last time as a senior in the 2019 NCAA tournament, Arike Ogunbowale knew Notre Dame would always be home. She never imagined she would play there again.
But on Friday, Ogunbowale and the Dallas Wings face the Las Vegas Aces and their two former Fighting Irish stars, Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young, in a WNBA exhibition game at Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
“I figured, ‘Of course, I’ll go back and watch the team.’ But now to actually play a game again there? And for Jewell and Jackie to do that as well? It’s super special, something I’ll always remember,” Ogunbowale told ESPN. “I’m just excited to see the fans, to feel that energy again. I have so many great memories there.”
The game — one of three preseason contests this month that take college stars such as the Chicago Sky’s Angel Reese back to LSU and the Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark to Iowa — is a celebration of Notre Dame’s WNBA success. The program’s alumni have especially been impactful as perimeter players over the past 12 years,…
