The Portland Fire fell 95-77 to the Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday night. A hard-fought, competitive first quarter saw Portland keep close, trailing just 21-20 despite some turnovers on the offensive side. However, the second quarter was all Golden State. They made eight threes in the period to take a dominant 56-36 lead into halftime.
The Fire dropped behind by as many as 22 in the third quarter before pulling the game back to single-digits with an 11-1 run to start the fourth quarter. The Valkyries
got hot again to pull away from Portland, this time for good.
The Fire were led in scoring by center Megan Gustafson’s 13 points. Joining her in double-figures were forwards Emily Engstler with 12 points, guards Bridget Carleton and Teja Oblak with 11 points, and guard Carla Leite with 10 points.
The Golden State attack was spearheaded by Kayla Thornton’s 19 points and Janelle Salaun’s 18 points.
Here’s a breakdown of the game.
Red Hot From Deep
The Valkyries made a franchise-record 18 three-pointers in the game on 45.0% shooting from deep. They dialed in early and often, giving them a huge advantage early in the second quarter. While the Fire never gave up, it felt like every mini run that threatened to turn into something more was met with a shot from deep on the other end.
Portland seemed to be fine with giving up a certain amount of threes. Golden State was more than happy to take the shots the defense gave them. With a consistent flow of makes from behind the arc from the opponent, the Fire were never able to string together enough stops to fully shift the momentum.
Turnover Battle
Portland is at their best when they are making the opposing offense uncomfortable. It leads to steals and a bunch of points in transition. This game they were able to force just seven Valkyrie turnovers, leading to just four points on the other end. Contrast that to the 15 turnovers forced by Golden State (and their 19 points off those turnovers) and it shows another layer of why the Valkyries were able to control the game from the second quarter onwards.
Not The Usual Suspects
The Fire’s two leading scorers, Leite and Carleton, were held to just six shots each in the game. Leite added seven assists as well. Neither guard was able to find many openings to get their shot off due to the strong Golden State defense. That allowed Gustafson to lead the team in scoring for the second straight game. She also took the most shots on the team, tied with Engstler, with 12 attempts each.
Considering the lack of transition offense and the leading scorers being held in check, the offense still operated pretty well. Portland shot 45.9% from the field and 37.5% from deep. Oblak gave some great minutes off the bench and Sarah Ashlee Barker, as always, did all the right things. Cleaning up the turnovers continues to be an area to improve, but the half court offense has gotten better throughout the year.
Up Next
The Fire have a few days off before facing off against the Phoenix Mercury at home on Friday, June 5 at 7:00 p.m. PST.
