The Portland Fire earned their first win for this incarnation of the team with a thrilling 98-96 victory over the New York Liberty tonight. After trailing by as many as 13 points in the first half, the Fire were able to steal the win on a buzzer-beating putback from Sarah Ashlee Barker.
Bridget Carleton led the team in scoring with a career-high 26 points. She also added a career-high 4 steals in the game, all in the first half. She was helped by Carla Leite’s 21-point performance, including the game-tying
layup late in the fourth quarter.
The Liberty were without all-stars Sabrina Iounescu and Satou Sabally in the contest. Breanna Stewart was also held to just 16 points on 4-12 shooting from the field by the stingy Portland defense. Rookie guard Pauline Astier carried the offensive load for New York with 24 points in the game.
Here are some things that stood out from the win.
Defensive Identity
With the nature of the WNBA Expansion Draft, the Fire do not have a bonafide star heading into their first season after joining the league. They compensated with a clear focus on the defensive side of the ball. That strategy was on full display in this contest. Stewart was hounded all night and never found a rhythm. Portland forced 18 turnovers, including 8 steals, which led to 25 points.
Three-Point Battle
Both teams were scorching hot from behind the arc. The Liberty made 13 of their 28 attempts, good for 46% shooting, and the Fire went 15-33, also 46% from deep. Carleton hit 5 threes for Portland, but the standout performance was Kamiah Smalls off the bench. After being inactive with an injury for the season opener, Smalls made four of her five shots from downtown on her way to a 13-point performance to lead all bench scorers.
If there was a weakness in the strong Fire defense, it came on the perimeter. New York’s hot hand from deep was a major reason they were able to take an early lead and hold it for most of the game despite the turnovers. Some of those opportunities came as a result of Portland trying to limit the inside looks of the Liberty. Others came as a result of the impressive shot-making abilities of the Liberty guards. That included a clutch, one-legged three as the shot clock expired deep in the final frame for Marine Johannes.
Outdone On The Glass
Portland was outrebounded on the defensive end 28-20 in the game. Both teams grabbed eight offensive rebounds, but the advantage for the Liberty limited the extra chances Portland may have otherwise had. This is where the impact of Stewart was felt the most, despite her offensive struggles. She had 10 rebounds in the game, 9 of which came on the defensive glass. Center Jonquel Jones added 7 rebounds for New York. The Fire struggled to compete with the size of the Liberty’s frontcourt and were unable to consistently generate second chances.
That deficit was made up somewhat by the turnover discrepancy, and Portland found their own advantage by running in transition and finishing easy baskets. But the Fire were also dominated on the glass by the Chicago Sky in the season opener, so this may be a hard trend to buck this season.
Up Next
The Fire are sticking around in Portland to have a rematch with the Liberty on Thursday, May 14 at 7:00 p.m. PST.
