07/25/26 09:55:00
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07/25 21:54 CDT Jones and Clark help Team Spoon beat Team Coop 129-122 in the
WNBA All-Star Game
Jones and Clark help Team Spoon beat Team Coop 129-122 in the WNBA All-Star Game
By JAY COHEN
AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO (AP) --- Jonquel Jones had 22 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists,
helping Caitlin Clark and Team Spoon outlast Marina Mabrey and Team Coop
129-122 in the WNBA All-Star Game on Saturday night.
Dominique Malonga had a first-half dunk for Team Coop, but Team Spoon had eight
players score in double figures in an All-Star Game that featured 127 3-point
attempts and very little defense. Allisha Gray had 19 points for Team Spoon,
and Clark finished with 17.
The WNBA celebrated its 30th season by holding its first All-Star Game in
Chicago since 2022. This time, the marquee event was played in front of a
record crowd of 19,783 at the United Center instead of the smaller Wintrust
Arena in downtown Chicago, a sign of how much the league has grown.
Jones, a 32-year-old center for the New York Liberty, was named MVP. Nneka
Ogwumike scored 11 points for Team Spoon while passing Maya Moore (119) for the
most career points in All-Star Game history.
Kelsey Mitchell had 28 points for Team Coop, and Mabrey scored all of her 23
points during a red-hot first half. Malonga finished with 12 points and 13
rebounds.
WNBA greats Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon drafted the All-Star teams
from players that were either voted as starters by fans, media and fellow
players or chosen as reserves by the league's coaches. Las Vegas' Becky Hammon
coached Cooper's team, and Minnesota's Cheryl Reeve was in charge of
Weatherspoon's squad.
Clark went 5 for 15 from beyond the arc and had five assists in her return to
the All-Star game. The Indiana Fever guard missed last year's event in
Indianapolis because of a groin injury.
The 24-year-old Clark came out firing, connecting from 33 feet and 37 feet on
her way to 11 points in the first 2 1/2 minutes. She buried another 3 early in
the second quarter off a slick no-look pass from Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia
Miles, the only rookie selected for the game.
Clark and Mabrey each put on an offensive show, but Malonga got the biggest
cheer of the night. The 6-foot-6 center from the Seattle Storm ran down the
lane, got a pass from Angel Reese and threw down a right-handed jam with 6:24
left in the first half.
Reese jumped up and down as Malonga finished the play, and the two exchanged a
mid-air chest bump on their way back down the court.
It was the first dunk in a WNBA All-Star Game since Sylvia Fowles in 2022. Lisa
Leslie (2005), Jones (2017), Brittney Griner (2019) also have accomplished the
feat.
Leslie was on hand for the festivities, along with South Carolina coach and
former WNBA guard Dawn Staley. Former NBA star Dwyane Wade also was courtside.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
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