Arike Ogunbowale scored a WNBA playoff-record 45 points, including 11 in overtime, as the Wings beat the Valkyries 108-100 to force Game 3.
Arike Ogunbowale scored 45 points Wednesday night, the most by any player in a WNBA playoff game, according to the official scorer's report.
Her night carried the Dallas Wings past the Golden State Valkyries 108-100 in overtime at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. The best-of-three first-round series is tied at 1-1. The previous record of 42 points was shared by Angel McCoughtry (2010), Breanna Stewart (2022), and Napheesa Collier (2024), according to ESPN.
Ogunbowale went 12-of-23 from the field, 5-of-8 from 3-point range, and 16-of-18 at the free-throw line. In 42 minutes, she also recorded seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals. It was the seventh 40-point game in WNBA playoff history; her previous playoff high was 24, according to ESPN.
Ogunbowale Forces Overtime With Late 3-Pointer
Golden State led 93-90 after Gabby Williams made two free throws with 14.6 seconds left in regulation. Out of a timeout, Ogunbowale tied it with a 23-foot pull-up 3-pointer off a pass from Paige Bueckers with 4.1 seconds remaining.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez said Ogunbowale got downhill and was very aggressive all night.
"At the end there, [we] were down three and got that on the sideline out of bounds, set a flare, and she caught it," Fernandez said. "She was comfortable on that side of the floor in front of our bench because she can get into her step-back. That was a big shot."
On the next possession, a foul called on Williams was overturned after Golden State challenged the call. A jump ball with three seconds left sent the game to overtime, tied at 93.
Ogunbowale banked in a 28-foot 3-pointer to open the extra period. She scored 11 of Dallas' 15 points in overtime, which tied Lindsay Whalen for the most by a player in a postseason overtime period, per the team.
With 2:26 left, Williams hit a 26-foot pull-up 3-pointer to tie the game at 98. Ogunbowale and Golden State's Tiffany Hayes each received a Flagrant 1 on the same stoppage. Both made both free throws, tying the score at 100.
Staying on the court mattered to Ogunbowale, and she did not want to do anything too severe.
"It's playoff basketball," Ogunbowale said. "Emotions get high, you get physical. If something happens, you retaliate. Obviously, you want to stay on the court, so you don't want to do anything too severe, but it's playoff basketball. Just being competitive."
Dallas held on. With 1:46 left, Ogunbowale hit a 25-foot step-back 3-pointer for a 103-100 lead, surpassing her previous career high of 41, per ESPN. Clark made two free throws at 1:28, and Ogunbowale went 3-of-4 from the line in the final 21.9 seconds.
Ogunbowale Changes Her Approach After Game 1
Three nights earlier, in Game 1 at Chase Center, Ogunbowale scored 10 points on 2-of-7 shooting as the Valkyries routed the Wings 104-80. Bueckers had 21 points on 9-of-10 shooting in that game.
Dallas has rebounders, and Ogunbowale was counting on them.
"We just wanted to come out with a different intensity," Ogunbowale explained. "We felt like we got pushed around out there when we played in San Francisco, and especially me personally, I don't feel like I was aggressive. I don't feel like I was trying to get to the hole. I was being really passive and wasn't playing my game."
"So I wanted to come out and be really, really aggressive," Ogunbowale continued. "I didn't know what I would score. I just knew I was going to shoot regardless, because seven shots isn't enough to win in the playoffs. I have to be aggressive, whether it's going in or not. We have rebounders. I just have to be aggressive, and that was my mindset for this game."
She had 16 points at halftime, when Dallas led 50-45. The Wings shot 16-of-28 in the first half, a franchise postseason record for field-goal percentage in a half, according to the team.
Wings Set Multiple Franchise Playoff Records
Clark scored 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while Aziaha James added 13 off the bench. In 43 minutes, Bueckers recorded 10 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals on 3-of-13 shooting. Jessica Shepard pulled down eight rebounds and dished out six assists.
Williams led Golden State with 36 points, seven assists, and four steals.
The Wings also set franchise postseason records for points (108), 3-pointers made (12), and free throws made (32), the team said. It was their first playoff win since Sept. 19, 2023.
Golden State had won seven consecutive meetings, and Dallas had not beaten the Valkyries since their first matchup on June 17, 2025.
A sellout crowd of 6,251 saw 15 lead changes and 14 ties.
Ogunbowale Says Record Means Little Without Winning
Ogunbowale said she could hold the record and still get put out Friday.
"Honestly, not much," Ogunbowale said. "Obviously, it's special. There's so many great players to come through. But we have to do something in the playoffs. I can have that and we get put out, and it really doesn't mean anything."
"It's always a blessing, and obviously I thank God," Ogunbowale added. "Anytime you can reach a milestone or get some type of something, that's great. But winning is more important."
Dallas went 27-17 in the regular season, 17 wins better than its 10-34 record in 2025, and entered the playoffs as the No. 7 seed. Golden State is the No. 2 seed.
Game 3 is Friday at Chase Center in San Francisco, with tip-off at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The winner advances to the WNBA semifinals against the winner of the series between the No. 3 Las Vegas Aces and No. 6 Indiana Fever, which is also tied 1-1.
