Paige Bueckers, Chris Koclanes Split on Arike Ogunbowale’s Return in Loss to Fever originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Dallas Wings fell 102-83 to the Indiana Fever on Sunday in a highly anticipated matchup featuring the league’s two most recent No. 1 picks—WNBA superstars Paige Bueckers and Caitlin Clark.
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Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale made her return from a left thumb injury that previously had her sidelined for three games and scored just two points, which came at the charity stripe.
After the game, an awkward moment unfolded during the press conference when Wings head coach Chris Koclanes and Bueckers offered differing opinions of Ogunbowale’s performance.
“You could tell she hadn’t played in a bit. Wish some would have fell early for her.” Koclanes said. “It’s a balance. She’s going to get people’s best. They’re going to be really physical with her. They’re not going to allow her to move, so she’s got to continue to find that balance of really working hard to get up the floor and get to spots and get off actions, and I’ve got to continue to help her.”
Bueckers scored a game-high 21 points and added four assists and four rebounds. The rookie phenom also responded to the question to support her veteran teammate after Koclanes gave his response.
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“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, her being a leader of this team. That was huge for me to be able to see that,” Bueckers said.
“We’ve talked about it as individuals, just having one on one conversations, how we want to stay unaffected through the refs, through the missed calls, through missed defensive possessions. I just want to give a shout out to her.”
Despite the lopsided loss, Bueckers’ show of support for Ogunbowale highlighted the leadership and resilience the Wings will need as they look to regroup and find their rhythm in the second half of the season.
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
