Arike Ogunbowale set a WNBA playoff record with 45 points, lifting the Dallas Wings to a 108-100 overtime win over the Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday in Arlington, Texas, to even the teams’ best-of-three, first-round playoff series.
The deciding game will be Friday in San Francisco, with the winner advancing to play either defending champion Las Vegas or Indiana in the semifinals.
The Valkyries were up 74-72 after a third quarter which featured seven lead changes.
Gabby Williams expanded Golden State’s advantage to 91-88 with a pair from the charity stripe with 1:02 to play in the fourth quarter.
The teams traded turnovers before Ogunbowale went to the hole for a layup with 22.5 seconds left to bring Dallas within one. Williams canned two more free throws with 14.6 seconds remaining to make it 93-90. Ogunbowale then responded with an off-balance 3-pointer with 4.1 seconds left to knot the score and force the extra period.
After an exchange of 3-pointers and a pair of flagrant fouls that produced two free throws for each team, Ogunbowale canned another 3-pointer to put Dallas up by 103-100 with 1:46 left in overtime. Alysha Clark followed with two free throws 18 seconds later to increase the lead to five, and Ogunbowale added a free throw with 21.9 seconds left to close out the win.
Off the bench, Clark finished with a season-high 21 points for the Wings, who snapped a seven-game losing streak against Golden State. Aziaha James added 13 points and Paige Bueckers hit for 10 on 3-of-13 shooting from the floor.
Williams poured in a career-high 36 points for the Valkyries, who went scoreless for the final 2:26 of overtime. Kaila Charles added 14 points, Kayla Thornton scored 13 and Veronica Burton and Janelle Salaun tallied 11 each.
The Valkyries led by as many as eight in a rough-and-tumble first quarter and led 26-23 after the first 10 minutes of play.
Dallas tied the game at 41 on Clark’s banked 3-pointer with 3:13 left, then took its first lead when Odyssey Sims got in the lane for a turnaround jumper with 2:32 to play. The Wings pushed their advantage to seven on another Clark three before settling for a 50-45 lead at the break.
Williams led all scorers with 18 before halftime, while Ogunbowale paced the Wings with 16.
–Field Level Media
