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Less than 10 seconds remained in the game. The crowd was on its feet. The Dallas Wings were staring down the exit as they trailed 93-90. But Arike Ogunbowale had no intention of going home. Catching a pass from Paige Bueckers, Ogunbowale knocked down a three from the side to force overtime, and that wasn’t even her final contribution.
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The Wings went on to win the game 108-100 in OT, and during those minutes, Ogunbowale completed her historic scoring run, setting a new playoff record. The Wasted no time posting about the achievement even though the veteran wasn’t done for the night.
“HISTORY BY ARIKE 🚨With this free throw, she records 43 PTS and sets a WNBA record for most points in a Playoff game!” read the post by WNBA on X.
Arike Ogunbowale produced a game for the ages, as she finished the game with 45 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists. She shot 12-of-23 from the field and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc. When the night ended, Arike Ogunbowale had broken a 16-year-old record set by Angel McCoughtry, who set the benchmark at 42 points.
While players like Breanna Stewart (2022) and Napheesa Collier (2024) had managed to match the record, none of them were able to move the bar higher.
“We wanted to come out with a different intensity,” said Ogunbowale. “I was going to shoot regardless.”
Ogunbowale was being guarded by none other than the 2026 FIBA World Cup’s Best Defensive Player award winner Gabby Williams on the final regulation-time possession. However, the Dallas guard succeeded.
This was Dallas’ first win over the Valkyries this season, and the timing couldn’t have been better. The Valkyries started well, leading by three points at the end of the first quarter. Then the Wings responded and took the lead before the end of the first half.
In the fourth quarter, it was all about Ogunbowale. The Valkyries’ management knew the threat the Dallas guard possessed, it seems, and even admitted their omission in this regard.
“We knew she liked the step-back left,” HC Natalie Nakase said about Ogunbowale’s last grasp shot. “It’s on the scouting report. That’s on me. She did a hell of a job.”
For the Valkyries, Gabby Williams’ career high of 36 points went in vain. Williams was also not able to capitalize on her chances in the final stretch as she missed all six of her shots in the final 1:31 minutes of OT.
Dallas HC Jose Fernandez was certainly impressed by the way his team bounced back after the humiliating Game 1 loss.
“A lot of different teams would have laid down and planned some vacations [after Game 1]. This team didn’t. It’s good to see.”
With the series now level, Paige Bueckers reflected on what it will take to get a win in the series finale.
Paige Bueckers Wants To Leave It All On The Floor In The Next Game
Bueckers didn’t have a particularly good game. She finished with 10 points, shooting just 3 of 13 from the field. Ogunbowale may have saved them this time, but it will require a lot more from this team to beat the Valkyries on their home ground.
When asked about what she would like to give her team on Friday during her appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt, Bueckers had a prompt answer.
“My heart, my body, I don’t want to actually die out there, but I want to feel like I’ve been after the game. Just everything I have, everything we have as a team, just unconditional gratitude for the journey that we’ve been on. And just a fire and a passion and a relief for our community.”
It will require perhaps all of that and maybe even more from the Wings to make a series comeback.
After the 104-80 loss in game 1, not many expected the Wings to survive in the series, especially because they are without one key player: their number one pick from this year’s draft, Azzi Fudd.
Fudd had been a key player in the Wings’ setup on both ends of the floor before an injury ruled her out for the rest of the season in the first week of August.
While they may not be able to exactly replace Fudd’s output, the Wings will certainly hope that Bueckers can replicate the fine form she has shown all season in the next game.
We have already seen the number one seed exit, so the question is: Will the Wings be able to pull off the second big upset of the 2026 WNBA playoffs? Or will the Valkyries quickly patch up their defensive lapse in Game 3?
