Arike Ogunbowale's Record 45 Points Force Valkyries Game 3

Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale scored a WNBA playoff-record 45 points to beat Golden State in overtime and force a decisive Game 3 on Friday.

With the Dallas Wings facing elimination in Game 2 of their first-round series, Arike Ogunbowale delivered a 108-100 overtime win over the Golden State Valkyries, scoring 45 points — the most ever in a WNBA playoff game. She finished with seven rebounds and four assists on 12-of-23 shooting, 5-of-8 from three-point range and 16-of-18 from the free throw line.

The previous playoff record of 42 points had been hit three times, most recently by Napheesa Collier in 2024, with Breanna Stewart (2022) and Angel McCoughtry (2010) also reaching that mark. According to CBS Sports, Ogunbowale is also the first player to score 40 points in a winning effort while facing elimination, and just the seventh player in WNBA history to score 40 in a playoff game. GO Magazine reports she is the oldest player to score 40 in the playoffs at 29 years and 212 days old. The shot itself echoed her famous NCAA title-winning corner three at Notre Dame eight years ago.

The record came after a difficult stretch for Ogunbowale, who ceded the franchise's spotlight to Paige Bueckers and endured the worst season of her career in 2025, averaging 15.5 points on 36.4% shooting over 29 games. Dallas still signed her to a two-year max worth $2.4 million, a deal CBS Sports notes looked like a mistake when she shot 33.8% over the first two months of this season. After the All-Star break she averaged 16.4 points on 46.6% shooting, and that form peaked Wednesday while Bueckers managed just 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting against the Valkyries' perimeter defense.

The Valkyries entered the game with a 99.1 defensive rating, more than four points per 100 possessions better than any other team, and a 32-10 regular-season record as the No. 2 seed. Per CBS Sports, the 108 points Dallas scored were the most Golden State has ever allowed in franchise history and the first time all season any team exceeded 92 points against them. The Wings shot 50% from the field, hit 12 of 23 threes, attempted 37 free throws and committed just 13 turnovers in 45 minutes, with Alysha Clark adding 21 points off the bench.

A winner-take-all Game 3 is set for Friday in San Francisco, where the Valkyries must fix their fouling — 28 team fouls and 23 opponent free-throw attempts in Game 2, per CBS Sports — to avoid a stunning upset by the seventh seed. A Wings win would send Dallas to the semifinals for the first time since 2023. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Dream swept Washington and will face the New York Liberty, who upset the top-seeded Lynx, giving the first round two genuine shocks in a wide-open bracket.