Ogunbowale scores WNBA playoff-record 45 as Wings win in OT to force deciding game with Valkyries

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Arike Ogunbowale was standing near Paige Bueckers waiting for the star guard to make a move on her dribble with the Dallas Wings trailing by three as the final seconds of regulation — and their season — ticked away.

Bueckers waved toward her backcourt mate, but she wasn’t telling Ogunbowale to get out of the way. She was telling her to get open.

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Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (22) shoots as Dallas Wings' Paige Bueckers, right, defends in the first half of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (22) shoots as Dallas Wings’ Paige Bueckers, right, defends in the first half of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Alysha Clark (7) celebrates a 3-point basket in the first half as the Golden State Valkyries play the Dallas Wings in Game 2 of the WNBA playoffs first round in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Dallas Wings' Arike Ogunbowale celebrates a basket in the second half of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game against the Golden State Valkyries Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dallas Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale celebrates a basket in the second half of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game against the Golden State Valkyries Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dallas Wings' Arike Ogunbowale (24) shoots in the second half of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game against the Golden State Valkyries Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dallas Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale (24) shoots in the second half of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game against the Golden State Valkyries Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dallas Wings' Jessica Shepard (32), Paige Bueckers (5) and Arike Ogunbowale (24) celebrate after Ogunbowale sunk a three-pointer in overtime of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game against the Golden State Valkyries Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

Dallas Wings’ Jessica Shepard (32), Paige Bueckers (5) and Arike Ogunbowale (24) celebrate after Ogunbowale sunk a three-pointer in overtime of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff game against the Golden State Valkyries Wednesday Sept. 30, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

After all, Bueckers knew who the hot hand was — and it wasn’t the 2025 No. 1 overall pick and Rookie of the Year who is in her first playoff series.

Ogunbowale took a pass from Bueckers on the left baseline, dribbled toward the corner and hit an off-balance corner 3-pointer, sending the game to overtime and her on the way to a WNBA playoff-record 45 points as the Wings won a thriller 108-100 on Wednesday night, forcing a Game 3 in their first-round series.

The deciding game will be Friday night in San Francisco, where the Valkyries won the series opener by 24 points.

Golden State is trying to advance in the playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s second season. The Wings are trying to reach the semifinals for the second time in six postseason appearances since moving to the Dallas area in 2016.

Ogunbowale opened the extra period of Game 2 by banking in a 3, then hit another one to put Dallas ahead for good at 103-100 with 1:46 remaining. The four-time All-Star easily topped her previous playoff best of 24 points after scoring 10 points on just seven shots in the series opener.

“We felt like we got pushed around out there when we played in San Francisco and especially me personally I don’t feel like I was aggressive,” said Ogunbowale, who was 5 of 8 from beyond the arc, 12 of 23 overall and 16 of 18 on free throws. “I didn’t know what I would score. I was going to shoot regardless because I just feel like seven shots isn’t enough to win playoffs and I have to be aggressive whether it’s going in or not.”

Bueckers, who scored 10 points, was mired in a 3-for-13 shooting night that included an air ball on a 3-pointer with the Wings trailing by three in the final two minutes of regulation. But she assisted on Ogunbowale’s tying 3, and again on a the banked 3 to start OT. Bueckers had four assists.

“For us to do what we did today without Paige having the type of game that she always has offensively for us, to come out with a win is huge,” Wings coach Jose Fernandez said. “We had other people step up.”

Ogunbowale’s shot for a 93-93 tie with 4.1 seconds left in regulation of Game 2 was followed by Gabby Williams getting called for an offensive foul on the inbound play after a Golden State timeout.

That call was reversed on replay, so instead of Aziaha James having a chance to give Dallas the lead at the free-throw line, there was a jump ball at center court with 3.0 seconds to go. After a scramble for the loose ball, Golden State’s desperation shot was way off target, and after the buzzer.

Williams scored a career-high 36 points, regular season or playoffs, but missed all six of her shots in the final 1:31 of overtime to finish 12 of 23 from the field.

“We got one at home, and we got to bring our best,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. “That was not our best. Tomorrow’s got to be clear minds, clear focus, clear game plan, and then be ready to go for the game at home.”

Ogunbowale scored 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime — 11 in each period. She passed her previous overall career high of 41 points with the 3 that put Dallas up for good.

Dallas’ Alysha Clark tied her playoff career high with 21 points, and Aziaha James added 13.

Kaila Charles scored 14 points for the Valkyries, and Kayla Thornton had 13.

With the scored tied at 98 in the extra period, Ogunbowale and Tiffany Hayes had to be separated after making contact. Both were called for flagrant fouls, and each made a pair of free throws with 2:26 remaining.

The Valkyries didn’t score again, shooting 2 of 12 in overtime.

See AP’s full WNBA coverage here

PENYELADI, Indonesia (AP) — After three months with no rain, Sriwati, a shopkeeper and mother of three children living in Penyeladi village on the tropical island of Borneo, can no longer depend on the river for her needs.

Experts say communities like Sriwati’s are facing a severe water crisis as this year’s super El Niño, combined with decades of degradation of the island’s ecologically vital peatlands — ancient wetlands that are critical for carbon storage, water regulation and pollution control — has created the perfect storm exacerbating human-caused climate change.

The Kapuas, Indonesia’s longest river that over 3 million people rely on, has extremely receded in the area near her home. All that’s left is a shallow stream of muddy water that’s not safe to drink or wash the rice she cooks to feed her children. She now has to buy water, adding to her monthly expenses.

“The water shortage affects us, especially when it comes to drinking water,” Sriwati, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, told The Associated Press from her small, concrete home.

El Niño is part of a natural climate cycle of warming ocean temperatures, but this year’s is expected to reach new extremes of drought, heat waves, flooding and other climate-related disruptions across the globe.

Meteorologists forecast it could exceed a record El Niño that began in 1997 and helped trigger billions of dollars in damage from heat waves, floods, droughts, tornadoes and wildfires.

In Borneo, experts say that because vast peatlands have been destroyed by land conversion, the effects of El Niño are already being more acutely felt.

“In Kalimantan, something like 60% of the peatland areas have been drained to make way for palm oil plantations and for pulp and paper concessions,” said Amanda Hurowitz, a senior director at international environmental organization Mighty Earth, using the name for the Indonesia-controlled part of Borneo.

“That means the water is not where it should be. There are all these canals, and because the canals are blocked, the water table goes low,” she continued. “Because it’s so dry, the water has just disappeared.”

In a written statement to the AP, Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry acknowledged the negative impact of drained peatlands, while insisting that specific causes and liabilities must be determined by evidence rather than attributed automatically to El Niño or the presence of businesses.

They added that the government aims to prevent future peatland degradation through ecosystem restoration and strict enforcement of concession holders’ obligations.

“The government’s long-term agenda focuses on preserving and restoring peatland hydrological functions, improving landscape and water management, strengthening fire prevention, and ensuring that all parties managing land fulfill their responsibilities,” they said.

Experts say the hot, dry conditions caused by El Niño coupled with peatland degradation have contributed to the enormous fires spreading across Borneo.

Dried peat is highly flammable, allowing fires to easily spread in drained areas. Because the fires often spread underground, they’re difficult to extinguish and can easily reoccur, according to the Borneo Nature Foundation.

The dwindling water supply in the area has slowed down firefighting efforts, while Japan has deployed firefighting assistance to the island.

Toxic thick haze blankets the sky. The smoke has drifted as far as the Philippines, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) away, and breached Malaysia’s emergency-level threshold for air pollution, forcing authorities to declare an emergency last week in a town in Sarawak state on Borneo.

In a written statement to the AP, Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry said the government is shifting its forest and land fire policy toward prevention by strengthening cross-sectoral coordination, enforcing laws against burning-based land clearing, expanding patrols and early detection systems, promoting risk-based monitoring and peatland restoration, and requiring permit holders and communities to take responsibility for fire control.

“Ultimately, controlling forest and land fires is not the task of a single ministry or institution,” they said. “Prevention requires collaborative effort.”

Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry recorded more than 202,000 hectares (499,000 acres) of burned land between January and July, almost three times the size of Singapore.

As the fires continue to burn and water remains scarce, communities continue to suffer.

In Sungai Malaya village in West Kalimantan, fires have burned for over a month, with residents remaining tense around the clock, as fires have sometimes suddenly worsened at night.

Fires have decimated the vacant lots where Rumsiyeh, a 45-year-old mother of five children, and her husband picked ferns to sell at the market.

“Everything’s gone. We can’t make a living anymore,” she said.

Boaters, fishers and others who rely on the river have had their livelihoods impacted, as extremely low water levels mean it’s impossible to fish or travel on the Kapuas. In the areas where there’s enough water for boats to operate, the thick haze hampers visibility, making it dangerous to operate, fisherman Abiansah, 39, said.

And the national economic impact remains unmeasured: Large metal barges that usually carry oil palm tree kernels for processing downriver currently lie aground on the sand, as children swing from their untied mooring lines.

Some relief has come from private and government water donations, but residents still fear what the future holds.

“I’m worried about this prolonged dry spell. It’s reached the point where just going about our daily activities — going anywhere at all — has become difficult. We’re facing water shortages, too,” said Sriwati. “I’m at a loss for words to describe it.”

Milko reported from Islamabad.

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