ARLINGTON, Texas — After one of Arike Ogunbowale’s best games of the 2026 season, Dallas Wings head coach Jose Fernandez stated his expectation.
Ogunbowale contributed well to the team’s June 15 blowout of the Las Vegas Aces, scoring 22 points, hitting five 3-pointers, dishing out seven assists and not once turning the ball over. It was the veteran’s sixth 20-point game of the season, and her coach was happy with what he saw from her as a scorer and facilitator.
“That’s what we need from her,” Fernandez said postgame. “… She looked to find people, and it’s been a big growth in Arike, because she’s had to be a high-volume type of guy. Well, she doesn’t have to be that on this team, because we have Paige, we have Azzi, we have Jess Shepard, so she can play like that and knock down open shots and continue to rebound and defend.”
The multi-time All-WNBA selection re-signed with Dallas this offseason, the franchise betting that her career-worst 2025 season was not representative of her ability next to Paige Bueckers in the backcourt.
How well that guard group, including those two and 2026 No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd, would gel was a key question coming into the season. The trio has seen the floor together for 283 minutes this season and started nine games, and the numbers have been strong.
Among three-player lineups in the league with over 150 minutes played, the Bueckers-Ogunbowale-Fudd combo ranks near the top in offensive rating (seventh), assist percentage (fifth), and assist-to-turnover ratio (second). Fernandez’s preseason response to worries about the backcourt’s defense — pointing out that “other teams have to guard those three” as well — seems to have had some basis.
Ogunbowale’s shooting decline from a season ago hasn’t been reversed, with her current 35.8% mark being another career-worst. Inside the arc, she’s shooting 34.8%, comfortably the worst by a double-digit scorer in the league this season. However, her 3-point percentage of 37.1% is just slightly below her career-best (37.6% in 2021). She’s been able to take advantage of open catch-and-shoot looks and create her own shots from deep as well.
As Fernandez said, she’s found success when she’s moved the ball. In four of her five highest-scoring outings this year, she also had at least five assists. The lone exception was a game against Portland in which Bueckers was out due to injury.
“Just finding the open man, we had good shots, but we were passing them up to get great shots,” Ogunbowale told reporters after the win at home against Las Vegas. “With the players that we have, they’re probably going to knock it down. So just sharing the ball, making the extra pass, trusting that if you give it up, it might come back to you, or your teammate will knock it down.”
‘Rare Gems’ is out now!
Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The IX Basketball and The IX Sports, wrote this deeply reported book. “Rare Gems” follows four connected generations of women’s basketball pioneers, from Elvera “Peps” Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.
If you enjoy Megdal’s coverage of women’s basketball every Wednesday at The IX Sports, you will love “Rare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.”
In addition, Ogunbowale’s ability to drive to the rim and draw fouls is a valuable skill for this team. She has a higher free-throw rate than any other Wings guard, leading the team with four attempts per game.
Still, the veteran is vulnerable to significant game-to-game swings. Most recently, Ogunbowale didn’t play in the fourth quarter or overtime in Dallas’ win against Seattle as second-year guard Aziaha James closed out the game.
Before heading to the bench, Ogunbowale had put up just four points on 1-for-5 shooting in her 20 minutes on the floor, the sixth game of the season in which she shot 20% or worse from the field. In a May 28 win over the Aces, she played despite appearing on the injury report with an illness and finished with just one point.
The 29-year-old’s services have still been helpful to Dallas this season in building an 11-6 record. She isn’t letting the poor outings here and there shake her approach, either.
“I actually probably shouldn’t have played that game because I was a little sick, but I was thirsty to play,” Ogunbowale said of that season-low scoring outing. “Every game is different. You show up to work, ready to compete, ready to do what you can to help the team.”
Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women’s Sports Daily
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women’s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women’s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!
