Enough with the road game excuses! That’s what Dallas Wings head coach Chris Koclanes thought before tip-off vs. the Fever. “There’s a narrative that we can’t play on the road,” he said. “We want to flip that script… Players are having career highs [against us]. We want to show up in Indiana with intensity and toughness.” But by the time the buzzer sounded, the same old story had played out. Fever star Caitlin Clark made sure that the narrative stayed intact. She racked up a career-high-tying five steals and 13 assists.

Even Arike Ogunbowale’s return from a three-game absence couldn’t change the 83-102 ending for the Wings. In fact, it may have complicated things for a team searching for rhythm with Maddy Siegrist and DiJonai Carrington recovering. And while Ogunbowale tried to bring energy and presence, her lack of it was evident. “I felt really good to get back with the team,” she said. “Feel their energy, give them my energy… I had a tear in my thumb, so definitely just taping it up and trying to get a feel for it. But it’s the first game back, so obviously not what I wanted, but I’ll be better next game.”

Now, she might find her rhythm again soon; however, “Not what I wanted” might be putting it lightly. Arike Ogunbowale just became the first WNBA player in nearly a decade to shoot 0-for-10 or worse from the field. While posting a -20 plus-minus. The last time a performance like that happened? You’d have to go back through Jewell Loyd in 2015, Plenette Pierson in the same year, Slobodanka Tuvic in 2003, and all the way to Dominique Canty in 1999. And now, Dallas’ Arike in 2025. There’s a lot of noise, from fans and the whole world in general, but amidst all that, her rookie teammate Paige Bueckers made sure that Arike wasn’t standing alone.

Arike has been averaging 16.8 points per game this season, which is why Paige Bueckers said postgame, “It might not have been her night shooting the ball. But the way she continued to stay in the game, not let it affect her effort on both ends of the floor, like her being a leader of this team, that was huge for me to be able to see that.”

She added, “We’ve had one-on-one conversations of how we want to stay unaffected through the refs, through the missed calls, through missed defensive possessions. And so I just want to give a shoutout to her because it wasn’t her night shooting the ball, but I thought the way she stayed within the game. That’s a winning trait.”

After this statement, being a 6th-year veteran for Dallas, Arike Ogunbowale embraced her role. She responded to Paige’s praise with a firm reassurance. “Like you said, I’m a vet, I’m a leader,” Ogunbowale said, adding, “There’ve been worse days. But for a lot of these rookies, it’s their first season, and we’re still building chemistry as a new team. So me sulking or being frustrated isn’t going to help anyone. I’m always going to stay positive, that’s just who I am.” Now, hopefully for Dallas die-hards, Arike is going to do anything but sulk, and she will be better for her next game, which will be against the Aces after a long rest of 3 full days.

What’s Next for Paige Bueckers’ Squad to do and not to do

The Wings are up against a tough challenge next as they will welcome the Las Vegas Aces on Wednesday. It will be their final game before the All-Star break. “We just want to feel good going into the break,” Arike Ogunbowale said. “Win, lose, or draw, we want to give more effort than what we gave today, and just go in there with a positive mindset. Go into All-Star break, reset, and then get ready for Seattle when we’re back.”

That emphasis on effort will be important for the squad. Especially after their second-quarter collapse against Indiana, which ultimately decided the game. The Fever outscored the Wings 36–15 in that stretch alone. “I think we need to improve on our transition defense,” said JJ Quinerly. “There were times we didn’t give that effort—that second effort to get back, and I think that kind of cost us that second quarter for sure.”

Ogunbowale echoed that sentiment. She pointed out how Indiana exploited Dallas’s weaknesses without even needing to put a lot of effort. “I think a lot of those, like you said, were off transition,” she said. “They didn’t even really have to set up and run something. So if we have better effort, we’ll get those stops.” Indiana dropped a WNBA season-high 64 first-half points. Caitlin Clark’s 14 points, 13 assists, and five steals fueled the night. The Fever also matched a franchise record with 30 assists in a dominant win. A lot more is to come from Dallas, though, stay tuned for when that happens.