It looked like the Portland Fire was going to lose their Sunday evening game against the Washington Mystics, potentially another road loss for a team that hasn’t won a game in over ten days, when all of the sudden Carla Leite grabbed a defensive rebound and sank a buzzer beater three-point shot to tie things up. And, sure, they ended up losing this one, too — but not after a historic night that sent both teams through four overtimes, clocked the longest game in WNBA history, saw three Fire players foul out and two hit career scoring highs.
So it was befitting, perhaps, that Alex Sarama told reporters after the game, “This is the happiest I’m probably ever going to be after a loss in my career.”
The reason for that happiness is clear: the Fire might have lost, but they did so while playing the most Fire-branded basketball to date.
“I think so many times tonight, we could have just given up, but every single time, [we] fought back,” Sarama said of the team’s resolve. “I mean, so many great learning opportunities for us as a young group… [I’m] just so proud of the players. I think we showed tonight when we play like that, we can play with anyone in this league and challenge them.”
Challenging the league has been part of Sarama’s modus operandi from the beginning. Words like “disruptive” have been bandied about since training camp; Sarama and GM Vanja Černivec have spoken at length about the process of piecing together a team that will annoy the rest of the WNBA.
The Fire’s becoming known for late game bursts; Sarama has also made it clear he doesn’t believe in garbage time, that every single second of a game counts. It was on full display as the team met the Mystics and forced overtime more than once (Leite was responsible for two of those times all on her own).
“I thought, like many of those late game situations, that the execution was terrific. [I] couldn’t have asked for more,” Sarama said. “We wanted to be really intentional, just running literally two things every time, but then finding advantages out of it, and I felt like they did a terrific job.”
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It was evident the team learned something, especially after that second 124-94 loss to the Sky on June 26. Sarama highlighted the defensive effort, saying he felt they looked like a completely different team” compared to the games against Chicago.
Of Leite, who ended the night with a career-high 32 points, Sarama only had high praise. The coach called a timeout after Leite missed a layup with three seconds on the clock. “I felt like we couldn’t have got a better look, and it’s tough, that’s the one… Carla was so clutch, and that’s that’s always the way it is. So she can’t be down about that. She played an incredible game. She’s the ultimate competitor, but her execution, the clutch was incredible. It just didn’t go our way with the last shot, but I was really happy with the shot we got coming out of that.”
Toughness is part of the game for the Fire
The Fire also plays with grit and determination — a toughness that comes with feeling overlooked. While speaking with reporters after the loss, Megan Gustafson and Sarah Ashlee Barker made two things clear: the game didn’t go how they wanted it to, but they were proud of how they played and the work put in by their teammates.
“Obviously, the result is very disappointing, especially after four overtimes, but it just goes to show, I mean, both teams, but specifically, I feel like we just really dug super deep,” Gustafson said. “And we believed in each other and we kept going, we never gave up, and so I’m just really proud of our efforts moving forward.”
The extensive overtimes were punctuated by timeouts, which allowed both teams to regroup. Barker said the Fire mostly used those brief moments of respite to encourage one another and move forward. “We just kept using the word be relentless, connectivity… stay within ourselves, because, we are tired in that moment,” Barker said.
“I mean, I’ve never played 45 minutes my entire life, and so in those moments, you’ve got to dig deep. You’ve got to, but digging deep is [about] staying connected and telling each other, ‘Hey, we got each other’s backs.”
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The Fire was fresh off two losses to the Sky, games that were clunky and difficult. “I didn’t feel good about the Chicago games, specifically the second one defensively,” Gustafon admitted. “So I really wanted to bring that energy and that focus coming into this game, and I think collectively we wanted to as well.”
The pair were unsurprised, but visibly gratified, to hear Sarama’s comment about being happy after the loss. “He came into the locker room, and he just told us how proud he was of us for the way that we responded against Chicago,” Barker said.
“I mean, we gave up 124 points to Chicago in a game, and then we just played Washington, and we gave up 124 points. So, I think that just shows we can defend, and when we defend, we’re a really good basketball team,” she added. “And we had four overtimes, and to give up the same amount of points, that’s resilience, that’s togetherness, that’s toughness, and I think that the thing that I’m most proud of this group is just like we stayed together when it got hard down the stretch.”
There it is again: more lessons for a team that’s new, young and open to learning.
In addition to Leite, Barker hit a career-high 25 points. Bridget Carleton, who fouled out during one of the overtimes, had 16 points; Gustafson, who did the same, ended the night with 20. Emily Engstler, who also fouled out of the match and who leads the league in blocks made this season, ended the night with three more—something will keep her on top.
The Fire gets a bit of a break this week, and will next travel to Seattle where they’ll be hosted by the Storm on July 4. The game will give the team the opportunity to bounce back and show what they’ve learned, something it sounds like they’re already preparing to do.
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