Arike Ogunbowale in stitches over Twitter exchange with UConn coach Geno Auriemma from 2014

Arike Ogunbowale and Geno Auriemma have a long history in basketball. In July 2014, the now WNBA star listed on X, formerly Twitter, her top 5 schools in "alphabetical order." She wrote Louisville, Notre Dame, Ohio State, UCLA and Wisconsin. 20 minutes later, the legendary UConn coach asked fans to stay tuned for his list of 5 players he had “zero interest in recruiting.”

Over a decade since her post, an X user shared Ogunbowale’s tweet and Auriemma’s response. The Dallas Wings star laughed off the exchange.

Arike Ogunbowale was a highly-touted prospect coming out of Divine Savior Holy Angels High School. During the 2014-15 season, she led the school to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division I championship. She was selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game and received offers from different college teams.

Leaving off UConn from her list of top 5 schools seemingly irked Geno Auriemma. When Ogunbowale posted the tweet, the Huskies had just won back-to-back NCAA Div. 1 championships. They were the No. 1 program in women’s basketball and proved it by winning two more titles before Dawn Staley’s South Carolina ruled in 2017.

Arike Ogunbowale would go on to play for Notre Dame and cause Auriemma’s Huskies heartache in 2018.

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Arike Ogunbowale beat Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies with a game-winning shot in the 2018 Final Four

Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies were unbeaten in 2018 leading to their Final Four showdown against Arike Ogunbowale and Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish led 24-14 after the first quarter. The Huskies, however, methodically crawled back into the game, forcing the matchup into a slugfest.

Notre Dame had a 79-74 lead following Ogunbowale’s two free throws with 21 seconds remaining in regulation. A 3-pointer by current Minnesota Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier edged the Huskies closer. Kia Nurse, who now plays for the Las Vegas Aces, scored a layup that sent the game to overtime.

The two teams sustained the seesaw battle in the extra period. Crystal Dangerfield’s triple tied the game at 89 apiece. Notre Dame called a timeout with 14 seconds remaining and predictably designed a play for Arike Ogunbowale.

The sharpshooter received a pass from Marina Mabrey before scoring a jumper just inside the 3-point line to push the Fighting Irish to the championship game. Ogunbowale capped off her heroics by scoring another buzzer-beater against Mississippi State for the title. She got the last laugh against Geno Auriemma in their feud.