The Portland Fire Head to New York and Steal the Show
The MVP of night, Carla Leite, rises up for a shot over two-time MVP Breanna Stewart.
Fire fans are quickly getting used to heart pounding performances, luckily so far in favor of the WNBA’s newest expansion team. The Portland Fire finished their first road trip of the season displaying their resilience once again in an 81-74 come from behind victory vs the New York Liberty.
Portland was fully heathy for the first time this season, and New York were once again missing major pieces of their team. Despite that, the Liberty still has players the likes of Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Marine Johannes, and went into the game favored by 11.5 points. However, unlike the last two games vs the Liberty, after back to back threes from Emily Engstler and Luisa Geiselsöder, the Fire came out hot on Monday night, getting out to an 11-5 lead to start the game. The two teams continued to go back and forth, with the Liberty making a 9-3 run at the end of the first quarter to cut the Fire lead to 19-18.
Carla Leite continues to provide a steady offensive presence throughout games, now averaging 15.6 points per game on the season. Behind Carla’s six first-half points and another solid performance from super rookie Teja Oblak (10 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds in 18 minutes), the Portland Fire found themselves once again in a close game as they headed into halftime up 35-33. As everyone expected, after 10 quarters of basketball between the Portland Fire and New York Liberty, the two teams seemed to be evenly matched.
That quickly changed in the third quarter when the New York Liberty come out of the half on a 11-3 run to take a 44-38 lead. For the rest of the second quarter, it was much of the same. New York controlled the quarter from the beginning to end, getting out to their largest lead of the night, 57-47, with 57 seconds left into the third quarter. A major reason for our struggles was Bridget Carleton having her worst game of what’s been the best start to any season in her career, only having 10 points on 2-9 FG shooting. However, what makes Carleton an incredible leader is despite how well she’s scoring, she always leads by example in doing all of the little things right to win. Carleton now leads the WNBA in steals with 16, establishing herself as an early candidate to make an all defensive team. Speaking of all defensive teams, tonight’s game isn’t won without Emily Engstler’s insane four steals AND four blocks. After tonight, now only do the Portland Fire have the WNBA’s leader in steals, but Engstler now also leads the WNBA in blocks.
While it was the defense that kept the Fire in the game, it was the offense that pushed Portland over the hump. Sarah Ashlee Barker has made timely fourth quarter shots a regular thing for her. With 3:36 left in the game, SAB crashed the board, ran to the left corner, and hit what will certainly be another memorable shot of many this season.
Despite that being an incredibly clutch shot, it wasn’t the best shot of the night. That title goes to the MVP of the night, Carla Leite. Leite finished the game with 18 points on 8-14 FG shooting in just 22 minutes, however, it wasn’t how much she scored but rather the timing. Carla is quickly establishing herself as one of the best closers in this early WNBA season as the Portland Fire found themselves in a 74-71 lead with 29.6 seconds left and the ball, needing just one more shot to steal the game and the season series from the New York Liberty. What proceeded next was yet another historic moment in this young Portland Fire season. Carla Leite called an iso with the 7’1” wingspan of Breanna Stewart in front of her, broker her down with a nice dribble combo, then instead of driving to the basket like usual she decided to pull for three in Stewie’s face and hit nothing but net.
Coach Alex Sarama summed up Carla Leite’s game perfectly in the post game press conference:
“To do that at 22 years old, i’m just so encouraged by the potential there…it's the ability to just get downhill at will and constantly put pressure on the rim.”
It’s clear that if Carla Leite can continue to progress and string together performances just as she has to start this season, at just 22 years old she’s on her way to becoming an All-Star and potential future superstar in the WNBA. As the Liberty continue to struggle to establish their identity so far this season, the Fire have stamped their identity with authority. Now that the Portland Fire have started the year 4-3, the questions around the team are starting to shift. How many games will the Portland Fire win? Will Sarah Ashlee Barker win most improved player? Can Alex Sarama follow in Natalie Nakase’s footsteps and win Coach of the Year? Can Bridget Carleton or Carla Leite become an All-Star for the first time in their careers? I’m not sure the answer to any of these questions, but I can’t wait to to see the season continue to play out because so far it’s been nothing but special.
Tonight’s MVP’s:
Carla Leite, Emily Engstler, and Teja Oblak.
Box Score:
Next Game:
Portland Fire (4-3) vs Connecticut Sun (1-7), 7PM Monday at Moda Center (Live TV: Rose City SportsNet or Fire +)
