The Portland Fire lost in the most painful way possible, falling to the Washington Mystics 124-123 in quadruple-overtime on Sunday afternoon. Point guard Carla Leite for the Fire and guard Sonia Citron for the Mystics shared top scoring honors with 32 points apiece. Leite added nine assists, while forward Emily Engstler pulled down 11 boards for the Fire.
It was a brutal start for the Fire. By the time the first timeout arrived at 7:15 left in the first, Portland was down by 10. The Mystics were shooting
66.7% from the field and from three, had four second-chance points to zero for the Fire, and also led 6-0 on fast break points. Pretty much everything you’d assume the Fire coaching staff should’ve been preaching against based on recent results happened anyway. Out of the timeout though, things got much better as the benches entered the game. The defense stiffened, some threes started falling and the Fire got out in transition. The Mystics had led by as many as 12, but an excellent response from Portland on both ends saw the Fire erase all of the lead and then some, finishing the quarter with a remarkable three-point lead.
Portland extended the lead to as much as nine in the second quarter, and they took a seven-point lead into halftime. Things got close in the third, but the Fire stayed resolute. A Sarah Ashlee Barker tough and-one at the shot clock buzzer with 1:48 left in the period got the lead back up to seven, but a mini-run from Washington cut the lead to three at the end of the third quarter.
Things looked to be going reasonably well for the Fire as they held on to a narrow lead throughout most of the fourth quarter. Give the Mystics credit though. From about six minutes left in the game on, they found a way to get to the line nearly every time down the court. Fire fans might quibble with a few of the calls, especially an offensive foul after a multi-car collision that went against Portland when two Mystics crashed into each other and caused most of the mayhem. Honestly though, the Mystics were more aggressive and dictated the play, earning most of their trips to the line. Their efficiency at the charity stripe set Washington up to close out the game. With the Mystics up three with eight seconds left, the Fire were forced to foul. Miraculously, guard Alicia Florez missed both free throws, giving the Fire one last shot. With nothing good happening, Carla Leite had to take a desperation three, and somehow a wild heave banked off the glass and in at the buzzer. Overtime!
Back and forth they went in the extra frame, with both teams having short-lived leads. A deep three after a scramble by forward Michaela Onyenwere for the Mystics put them up by three with just 24 seconds to go. Leite answered with a three of her own with 18 seconds left from waaaay deep. The Mystics had a chance to walk off with the win, but couldn’t convert, forcing double-overtime.
With both teams utterly exhausted, it was a fast break basket from Sarah Ashlee Barker off a great Leite assist that gave the Fire their first lead in the second overtime period. Washington tied it up with 14.9 seconds to go. After a timeout, Leite couldn’t make lightning strike again on another attempt from deep, so it was off to triple-overtime.
Like the end of regulation, Portland found itself narrowly down in triple-overtime, without the ball and with just 16 seconds left. Citron was fouled, but she could only convert one of two, making it a two-point lead for the Mystics. With the clock running down, forward Bridget Carleton received the ball at the edge of the lane, spun and hit the turnaround. Tie game! A miss from Citron… and it’s quadruple-overtime!
Foul trouble was a big factor in this one. Engstler and Carleton fouled out, and every remaining starter was playing with 5 fouls. The only Mystics player in foul trouble was forward Kiki Iriafen, and she fouled out with 1:37 left. Then Gustafson fouled out for the Fire on an offensive foul that seemed like a normal pick-and-roll. The Mystics were getting layups nearly every time down the court at this point, with the Fire desperately hanging on. With Washington leading 124-122 and 13 seconds left, Leite drove hard to the basket and was fouled, getting hit hard in the back after release. In obvious discomfort, she took to the line. After making the first, she missed the second. Forward Serah Williams somehow got the rebound though. Forward Frieda Buehner missed, but then followed her own shot for the rebound. Fire Coach Alex Sarama called a timeout, leaving three seconds left. On the ensuing play, Leite got penetration deep, but missed the shot. Heartbreaking.
Here are some takeaways that caught the eye from the four-OT thriller.
Full-Court Press
At a key moment early when it seemed like things were getting away from the Fire, they turned on the full-court press. It’s always fun when you see the press well executed and successful. Portland generated a few steals, and when not getting the turnover, they took some time off of the shot clock. That put the Mystics on the back foot and forced awkward shots, helping turn the momentum of the game. As the game wore on, the press became less effective, but this is something to build on.
Rebounds
After having some rough rebounding nights lately, it was fantastic to see the Fire up for the battle of the boards. The Mystics edged it 33-32, but this was an excellent performance against one of the best rebounding teams in the WNBA. The Fire are the lowest rebounding team in the WNBA at 28.2 per game, while the Mystics are second-best at 35.7, so staying close was huge.
More Dynamic Defense
The Fire did really well with their doubles, especially in the first half. They picked their spots, delivering the second player quickly and without warning, giving no time for the Mystics players to prepare. They weren’t generating an inordinate numbers of steals, but they often induced sloppy play and poor shots from Washington. The Fire didn’t keep it up as much as I’d like after halftime, but they have some really good game tape of how to do it right and how successful it can be. More of this please.
Sonia Citron
Citron was the star of the game for Washington. Her 32 points, relentless penetration and 13 made free throws were vital for the Mystics.
Bench Play
The Fire bench may have had their best game of the season. Five subs played in this game for Portland, and every one of them finished with a positive plus/minus. Frieda Buhner and Serah Williams both contributed nine important points each, but for the most part, it was the starters who did the bulk of the scoring. The subs, however, came in with controlled energy, wreaking havoc on the defensive end while generating second-chance opportunities and assists on the other. An interesting what-if is if the bench had played more minutes in the various overtimes. Both teams played their starters for the vast majority of the extra frames, so there’s no guarantee the bench players would’ve been successful against the Mystics starters. Still, one could question the wisdom of giving Carleton over 50 minutes and the other starters well over 40. The only exception was the 37 minutes for Engstler, who was limited by fouling out.
Free Throw Disparity
The Fire had 39 personal fouls while the Mystics had 23. Free throw attempts were 41 to 21. This is a game where I think drawing two separate conclusions are both appropriate. First, the Fire have every right to feel hard done by. Both the frequency and the timing of big whistles is going to leave a bad taste in the mouth, and that’s ok. At the same time, the Mystics were better at getting to the line and smarter about how they defended in the paint. Both things can be true. The Fire can learn from this game by reviewing how the Mystics got as many calls as they did.
Up Next
The Fire will end their painful road trip in Seattle by taking on the Storm. Fortunately, they have nearly a week off before that 4th of July matchup at 6:00PM PDT.
