Late Collapse Costs Storm Win in Portland
Seattle was outscored by Portland 10-0 to end the game by a score of 94-89.
(Portland, Oregon) The Seattle Storm (3-13) snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on Wednesday night down in Portland. They led the majority of the game and held a 12-point lead more than midway through the third period. Unfortunately, things started to unravel over the game’s final 10 minutes. The Fire outscored the Storm 27-15, which included a 10-0 run over the game’s last two and a half minutes. The late-game collapse spoiled an otherwise very strong performance by the young Seattle team. In the end, the Storm have now lost their 9th game in a row, this one by a final score of 94-89.
As there has often been this season, there were still positives to take away from this game despite yet another losing effort. Dominique Malonga looked like a future All-WNBA player, scoring a career-high 28 points on 12-19 FG shooting. She pulled down 11 rebounds, had three assists, three blocks, and two steals. There were large portions of this game where the Fire’s frontcourt simply had no answer for Malonga’s size and skill.
Rookie Awa Fam displayed more of her unique potential, tying her career-high with 18 points on 6-10 FG, including hitting 3-5 FG from 3-PT range. Fam added five rebounds, which included three on the offensive glass.
I spoke with Natisha Hiedeman after the game about the youngest frontcourt duo in WNBA history.
“It’s how they show up every day. They are the future of this league. We know that they have it in them. So for them to be able to showcase their talent and just do what comes so naturally to them. I mean, I love watching it. It’s fun getting them the ball and watching them go to work. Just 2 great athletes, that’s super young. So just excited for their growth because this is only just the start of what they’re able to accomplish.” Hiedeman told me.
The Storm’s other main rookie, Flau’jae Johnson, also had a solid game with 8 points on 4-7 FG. Unfortunately, she fouled out with over six minutes left in the game. Seattle clearly missed her presence on both ends of the court as she exited the game with a team-best +8 in plus/minus.
Natisha Hiedeman had another strong game, as she totaled 19 points and made five three-pointers on eight attempts. However, she also led the team with five turnovers. Jade Melbourne set a new career-high in assists with eight, but shot 1-6 FG, after getting the start for the injured Jordan Horston.
Seattle had their best shooting night of the season as they shot 48% (32-67 FG). They held Portland to 39% (27-70 FG). The road team outscored the home team 40-18 with points in the paint. The Storm also held advantages in assists (22-20), second-chance points (18-15), fast break points (11-4), and points off turnovers (14-13).
Portland Fire
Bridget Carleton led the Fire with 24 points on 7-13 FG. All of her field goal makes and attempts were from beyond the three-point line. She also added three steals and two blocks. Carla Leite added a double-double of 20 points and a game-high 10 assists. She also got to the line a lot and knocked down 9-10 FT. Leite made some big plays down the stretch.
Sarah Ashlee Barker contributed 12 points and six rebounds. Karlie Samuelson had one of her best games of the season off the bench, scoring 10 points in 17 minutes. Thanks to Samuelson, the Fire’s bench outscored Seattle’s reserves 21-10.
Portland’s two largest advantages were from the three-point range, where they shot 41% (17-42 FG) and outscored Seattle by 24 points from beyond the arc. They also had a seven-point advantage from the free throw line, where they made 23-27 FT. The home team pulled down 14 offensive rebounds in the game.
Game Breakdown
Dominique Malonga escaped from the fronting defense to score the game’s first basket. Emily Engstler and Bridget Carleton knocked down back-to-back three-pointers. Awa Fam scored on the pick-and-pop. Carleton hit another three to put the Fire ahead 9-4. Natisha Hiedeman answered with a triple on the other end. Portland quickly scored five more, all from Sarah Ashlee Barker, to double up Seattle 14-7. That forced Coach Sonia Raman to call a timeout to settle her team down.
Barker was fouled in transition and made both free throws. Hiedeman drilled another three-pointer. Megan Gustafson hit the Fire’s 5th three-pointer of the opening quarter. Malonga added two more from the charity stripe. Seattle used a 9-2 run to tie the game. Hiedeman found Malonga down low for the easy score, and then Natisha knocked down another three-ball. Zia Cooke came off the bench and knocked down a pull-up jumper.
Cooke swiped the ball, but then was swiped in the face. Seattle was in the bonus, and Cooke knocked down both free throws after taking a moment to regain her vision. The Storm ended the period on an 11-2 run and led 23-21.
Portland used a 6-1 run to open the second quarter with some free throws and a Carleton triple. Mackenzie Holmes knocked down a corner three with less than a second on the shot clock. Frieda Buhner scored an And-1 that helped the Fire regain a three-point lead. Flau’jae Johnson used a strong drive to get to the rim for two. Teja Oblak hit a three-pointer.
Seattle regained the lead with a Hiedeman three-pointer and another layup by Johnson. Flau’jae managed to split the defense and bank in the short jumper. Malonga hit a turnaround jumper in the paint. Carla Leite tied the game at 47-47 and had a chance to help Portland take the lead with an additional free throw, but she missed. Awa Fam made two free throws, but one was waved off due to a lane violation. At the end of the first half, the Storm led 48-47.
The road team outshot the Fire 55% (18-33 FG) to 41% (13-32 FG). Seattle committed nine turnovers in the first half due to Portland’s aggressive trapping defense. Natisha Hiedeman led Seattle through the first two quarters with 14 points. Dominique Malonga was right behind her with 13 points. Carla Leite led the Fire with 11 points at the midway point.
Bridget Carleton buried a triple to open up the second half. Malonga pulled down an offensive rebound and immediately went back up for the score. Seattle then scored in transition, where Dom found Awa down low for the layup. Portland got another three from Ashlee Barker, but Awa Fam was able to answer on the other end with a triple. Leite scored an And-1 with another strong drive to the rim. Fam responded again with another three-point basket.
The Storm built their largest lead of the game over the next few minutes. Melbourne added two from the line, and Malonga added four more points. That gave Seattle a 10-point lead at 66-56. Hiedeman added two more from the line. After Seattle went ahead by 12, the Fire ended the quarter on an 11-6 run. The road team led 74-67 at the end of the third period.
Carleton knocked down another three to open the fourth quarter. Leite snagged an offensive rebound with the easy putback layup to cut the Storm’s lead to two, forcing Coach Sonia Raman into another timeout. Malonga set a new career-high with a score in transition with an assist from Jade Melbourne.
Seattle was sloppy with the basketball, turning the ball over multiple times. Leite cut the Storm’s lead to one with two more free throws. Awa Fam gathered two offensive rebounds on the same possession and was fouled. The two teams exchanged multiple three-pointers by Carleton, Fam, Hiedeman, and Engstler. Malonga bullied her way past Gustafson for another layup to keep the Storm ahead by five at 89-84.
The Fire tied the game with two free throws by Leite and a corner three by Gustafson. Then took the lead on an Emily Engstler turnaround corner jumper. Carleton hit a dagger three with 41 seconds to go to put Portland ahead by five. Seattle was held scoreless over the game’s final 2:39 and was outscored 10-0 to lose the game 94-89.
Final Box Score
Up Next
The Seattle Storm (3-13) travel to Phoenix, Arizona, to face off against the Mercury (4-12). They play on Saturday, 6/20 at 12:00 PM on ABC. The two teams faced off back on June 3rd, where the Mercury escaped Seattle with a 72-68 victory. This will be the second of three meetings this season.
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