Last night’s regular season finale in Moda Center did not start according to plan.
Facing the Golden State Valkyries - last season’s expansion darlings who have now taken the W by storm - the Portland Fire saw a 17 point deficit in the opening minutes.
Thanks to a Carla Leite layup late in regulation, and a surge in overtime, the Fire overcame that early slump to win 90-82, ending the season on a high note.
Rookie head coach Alex Sarama beamed with positivity in his postgame comments.
“I mean, what an ending, I think that sums up Portland Fire basketball. The grit, the relentless, to comeback from 17 down in the first quarter, and then just battling to win in overtime. I’m so proud of our team.”
Portland’s top expansion draft pick last Spring, Bridget Carleton, scored 26 points in the win. After the game, Carleton explained what it meant to close out the season with a win in front of the Rose City’s passionate fans.
“[It was] special. I think that’s what our fans deserve. We wanted to come home finishing the season at home, [it] is special. So being able to do that, especially after the season we had, and how much support we felt all season, we wanted to do that. We wanted to fight. We wanted to play hard today, and to come up with a win against a really good Valkyrie team is, yeah, it’s incredible, and it felt really good.”
The win snapped a four game losing streak that preceded the FIBA World Cup break, going all the way back to late August.
At season’s end, the Fire finished with 17 wins and 27 losses, good for the ninth best record in the W, and 9.5 games back from a playoff berth. Portland finished 9th in points per game (86.2), 8th in field goal percentage (44.8), 8th in three point shooting (34.4), 5th in free throw percentage (80.7), but held the league’s worst mark in rebounds per game (30.2).
The WNBA is expected to run the 2027 WNBA Draft Lottery sometime in late November or early December, with non-playoff teams like Portland participating.