It came down to the last two seconds, but The Portland Fire defeated the Dallas Wings 84-83 on Saturday evening for their first Commissioner’s Cup victory. The win snapped a four-game losing streak.
Small forward Bridget Carleton had 20 points for the Fire, while center Megan Gustafson added 16 along with 6 boards and 3 blocks. Point guard Carla Leite had 8 assists. For the Wings, Arike Ogunbowale led all scorers with 22, while Jessica Shepard pulled down 14 rebounds. Wings star Paige Bueckers didn’t
suit up due to a lingering ankle injury.
Defense was the name of the game in the first quarter, as neither team was able to get their offense going. Back and forth it went, with Portland getting their noses out in front 14-13 at the end of one quarter of play. There were too many turnovers for both teams, but credit both defenses, there weren’t too many bad giveaways on either side of the court.
A Flagrant One early in the second quarter against Wings center Jessica Shepard for an elbow to the eye of Gustafson helped get the home crowd into the game. The resulting free throws and possession were part of a 12-5 Fire run. Portland found itself with an 8-point advantage.
The best news of the first half was the Fire finding the range from deep, something missing in recent games. They converted eight makes from distance on 47.1% shooting, good enough to go into halftime with a deserved 44-37 lead.
Dallas made their push in the third quarter, seemingly drawing a foul every time down the court. Aziaha James did much of the damage for the Wings. A late and-1 chance had Dallas in front with seconds remaining in the quarter. The Fire would grab the rebound and storm down the court. Bridget Carlson converted the buzzer-beating three to give the Fire a 63-61 lead going into the fourth.
The incessant whistles against the Fire would continue, making Portland’s task all the more difficult. Dallas seemed like they would close this one out when Azzi Fudd hit a running layup with 1:25 left, giving the Wings a four-point lead and seemingly all of the momentum. After a Portland timeout, Carleton hit a monster turnaround three, followed by a Dallas miss and a Gustafson slashing layup for Portland to take the lead, 81-80.
Fudd would once again step up for the Wings with an and-1 with 19 seconds left. 83-81 to the Wings. Carla Leite would call her own number and make a contested layup with 12 seconds to go to tie it up once again. One more timeout by Portland to get the defense set, and it was Gustafson who came up huge with a crucial block. Power forward Emily Engstler scooped up the loose ball and was fouled, setting up two free throws and a chance to win the game. The first one missed, but Engstler was money on the second. Arike Ogunbowale had one last difficult opportunity at the buzzer from deep, but it missed, sending the Fire fans into delerium.
Here’s are some things observed in the win:
Rebounding
After a miserable game on the boards Friday evening, Portland improved greatly on Saturday. They lost the battle 52-42 to the Wings, which isn’t ideal, but it was so much better than Friday that it was striking. They fought for every board and came down with some huge ones at the most important times. This is still most definitely an area of concern, but this was a good effort.
Megan Gustafson
Gustafson was the difference maker on the evening. She went 7-11 for 63.6% from field. She led the Fire with 6 boards, and her 3 blocks was the best mark for either team. More than the stats, she was absolutely huge when it looked like Portland was fading. Her drives under immense pressure were crucial, and her block with five seconds to go set up the Engstler rebound and eventual winning free throw.
Transition
The Fire wanted to slow down the Wings fast break. They weren’t completely successful, but they were able to get some transition buckets of their own. It finished with a 14-12 advantage for the Fire in fast break points, a result they will be pleased with.
Bridget Carleton
Carleton’s shooting was key to the win. She made six threes on 10 attempts for a 60% clip, including that late turnaround that kept the Fire in the game. She had 20 points, was two for two from the free throw line, and was another Fire player that stepped up in crunch time.
Unkind Whistles
Portland was whistled for 24 fouls compared to only 15 for the Wings. There were some really rough whistles (and lack of whistles) working against the Fire in this one, including some swallowed calls in crunch time when Portland thought they had drawn the foul. While there’s reason to be annoyed as a Fire fan, Portland wasn’t as sharp on the defensive end as they needed to be. Too many non-vertical contests and late slides for a blocking foul made many of the calls a bit too easy. Perhaps being on the second night of a back-to-back was the difference here.
Three Point Shooting
The Fire shot 45.2% from deep, a huge improvement over some recent games. Carleton, shooting guard Sarah Ashlee Barker, Leite, guard Teja Oblak, forward Frieda Buhner, and center Luisa Geiselsoder all shot over 50% from beyond the arc for the game.
Up Next
Another difficult game is on tap, this time on the road. The Fire will visit the Minnesota Lynx on Monday at 5:00 PM PDT.
