Atlanta Dream Dominate Portland Fire in 86-66 Defeat
33 points off turnovers fueled a rough night in the Rose City. Now, the Fire prepare for their first back-to-back of the season tomorrow night.
Through their first nine games, no expansion team had ever earned more than five wins.
After four quarters tonight, that record remained intact, as the Atlanta Dream repeatedly capitalized on Portland mistakes - scoring 33 points off turnovers - and they beat the Fire by twenty. When the final buzzer sounded, Atlanta won 86-66.
Without Bridget Carleton - who missed the game due to a back injury - Portland relied on former Oregon Duck Holly Winterburn, making her first career start. Winterburn’s debut to the starting lineup began positively, with a drive and kick to veteran wing Emily Engstler for a corner trey.
Despite the Fire’s fine passing and ball movement early in the game, Atlanta took the lead thanks to ferocious rebounding. Later in the quarter, Portland rallied back: first, Karlie Samuelson scooped a board and fed Emily Engstler for a right wing triple with 4:37 to go, inching the margin to two. Then, Winterburn drove into the paint for a lay-up, tying the game at 14 with 2:22 remaining.
After one quarter, the Fire trailed 16-14.
Portland managed their first lead with 6:00 until halftime, as Carla Leite whipped the orange across the arc to Megan Gustafson, who swished a three from the top of the arc.
Later in the second quarter, Luisa Geiselsöder feds Sarah Ashlee Barker from close range, and Portland trailed 30-29. After a Rhyne Howard three ball, the Dream led 35-31 with thirty seconds left. Another Howard trey launched the deficit to 7 points, 38-31 at halftime.
In the first half, Portland shot just 4-13 from three point range, while Atlanta outfought them at the free throw line (7 of 8, versus 1 of 1 for the Fire), outrebounded them (13-10), and forced 14 Fire turnovers.
Both teams battled to begin the third quarter, with Portland inching within 2, 40-38, with 7:45 left. Angel Reese charged into the paint for an offensive foul, but then Geiselsöder gave possession back to Atlanta with an illegal screen. After a 7-0 Dream run, Portland whistled timeout with 6:44 remaining, but Atlanta roared right back. Thanks to another Howard three, their lead was double-digits. Behind a trio of perimeter strikes from Gustafson and Barker, Portland managed to crawl closer. When the third quarter ended, the Fire trailed 59-53.
Atlanta began the fourth quarter with a 7-0 run. The lead expanded further with 5:18 to go, when Dream big Naz Hillmon drove into Megan Gustafson down low, spun free, and buried a close-range bucket. Portland’s reserve center fell to the floor with an upper body injury, and Portland trailed 74-57. At their peak, the Dream managed a 16-4 run, and the game was well out of sight for the home team. As the final buzzer rang, the Dream beat the Fire 86-66.
The loss moves Portland’s record to 5-4, and sets up their first back-to-back of the season, a Saturday night matchup with Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever. Tip-off at Moda Center is scheduled for 5 PM PST.
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Matt Bagley is a professional sportswriter with a passion for women’s sports. Outside of work, he cherishes quality time with his birth family, his chosen family, and one very pesky house panther.
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