Wings' Arike Ogunbowale reveals key factor behind playoff-record 45-point explosion

4 weeks ago 18

After two down seasons, Arike Ogunbowale on Wednesday reminded the WNBA exactly who she is.

Ogunbowale went off for a career-high 45 points, breaking the WNBA's single-game playoff record of 42, as she led the Dallas Wings to a season-saving 108-100 overtime win against the Golden State Valkyries.

The performance is stunning for a number of reasons. Ogunbowale built her reputation as an explosive scorer, but her 2025 and 2026 seasons have been the least-productive campaigns of her WNBA career.

MORE: Arike Ogunbowale drops historic 45 as Wings stun Valkyries in overtime classic

Nevertheless, Ogunbowale -- the Wings franchise's all-time top scorer -- always is capable of a performance like this, and the numbers from Game 2 at College Park Center in Arlington are stunning.

Ogunbowale scored 45 points on 12-of-23 shooting, knocking down five 3-pointers and 16 of her 18 free throws. The 29-year-old hadn't scored 40 points or more in a game since May 2024 -- and with Dallas' season on the line, she saved her best performance in 28 months for Wednesday night.

Ogunbowale said postgame the team felt they got "pushed around" in Game 1.

"Especially me personally... I don't feel like I was trying to get to the hole. I just was being really passive and wasn't playing my game."

Wanted to be more aggressive tonight.

— Drake (@DrakeKeeler) October 1, 2026

Explaining her mindset to reporters post-game, Ogunbowale said that the Wings felt "pushed around" in Sunday's Game 1 against the Valkyries, when Golden State rode a 37-point second quarter to a dominant 104-81 win.

With Dallas' season on the brink, Ogunbowale explained she wanted to be more aggressive. Mission accomplished.

"I don't feel like I was trying to get to the hole (in Game 1), I just was being really passive and wasn't playing my game," Ogunbowale said.

Back in San Francisco's Chase Center on Friday night, the Wings can earn their first playoff series win in three years. In changing her mindset for Game 2, Ogunbowale at the very least saved Dallas’s season -- and she might have provided a springboard to the semifinals.