PHOENIX — At halftime of Saturday’s WNBA All-Star Game, Arike Ogunbowale received a bit of a surprise. Team WNBA coach Cheryl Miller was talking about the group’s first half performance — which saw it enter the locker room trailing by two points — but paused amid her comments and pointed at the Dallas Wings star. Ogunbowale said Miller told her to “take a deep breath and play your game.”
Coming out of the locker room, Ogunbowale did. The former league scoring champion collected all of her All-Star Game-record 34 points in the second half.
“You guys saw what happened,” she said, reflecting on how she took Miller’s advice to heart.
Ogunbowale’s scoring barrage saw her claim her second All-Star MVP and will go down as the most memorable performance of the night. But there were plenty of other moments that delighted the sellout Phoenix crowd during Team WNBA’s 117-109 victory.
Here’s a breakdown and grade for every player who participated.
Team WNBA
Starters
Nneka Ogwumike: B+
Ogwumike was among the tone-setters for Team WNBA. She got off to a fast start — with 1:35 left in the first quarter, she had scored what was then a game-high 8 points. Her 14 points were the third-most of any Team WNBA participant and she missed only two shots.
DeWanna Bonner: B-
Bonner…
