Fourth Quarter Run Fuels Fire Over Liberty, 81-74
A red hot fourth quarter lifted the Rose City past their foes tonight, moving their record to 3-2 on the season.
Thanks to an 18-8 fourth quarter run, the Portland Fire came back to beat the New York Liberty for the second time this season, 81-74.
Rocking the #0 jersey, Oregon Ducks legend Satou Sabally returned to the Liberty lineup after missing games with a concussion. Her night would not last long, however. After a hard foul with 7:54 in the opening quarter, the German forward struggled, and was pulled from the game shortly afterwards.
Portland surged ahead with their perimeter attack, exemplified by a sequence midway through the first quarter where Emily Engstler and Luisa Geiselsöder knocked in back-to-back bombs. At the end of the opening stanza, the Fire led by 1 thanks to electric 43% three point shooting.
As the first half continued, those long range strikes waned, but the Rose City’s expansion team stayed ahead through sheer force of will: Portland outrebounded New York 20 to 16, scored more points in the paint (16 to 10), got more from their bench (14-8), and snagged 5 steals. At halftime, the Fire led 35-33, holding the Liberty to their lowest first half point total of the season.
Admirably, the 2024 WNBA champions thundered back to begin the third period, scoring six unanswered within ninety seconds. At the eight minute mark, Portland stopped the bleeding with a beautiful transition sequence: moments after hauling in a rebound, Emily Engstler found Bridget Carleton in transition, who swished from downtown.
From there, the two sides played tug-of-war. New York began to emulate the winning formula from their previous Portland matchup, feeding center Jonquel Jones. On one possession, the Liberty caught Jones 1-v-1 on 5’8” guard Teja Oblak. The 35 year old Slovenian fought valiantly tonight, but she was out of her league against the bigger, stronger Jones, who muscled her way to an and-1. New York led 46-40 with 4:57 remaining in the third, and held that margin 57-49 when the buzzer sounded.
Then, the Fire roared back. The run began with a Liberty miss, as a potential potential back-breaking three caromed off the front of the rim with 7:35 to go. While fighting for the rebound, Jones pushed off, and was called for the foul. Trailing 59-53. the maligned guard Oblak redeemed herself with a foul line jumper, slashing the deficit to four.
After Engstler found Megan Gustafson inside for a post-up, the margin was merely one point with four minutes left. On the next Portland set, rising star Sarah Ashlee Barker found her spot on the left wing, firing a lead-stealing three. From there, momentum totally swung in favor of the Fire. Oblak stole the next New York possession, then Barker cut under the basket, drilling one from close range. Following an isolation set for their French point guard Leite - who dished Geiselsöder for a corney trey - Portland led by seven.
Already on top 74-71 with 13.7 left, Leite struck the knockout blow: walking up to the left elbow of the arc, she drained a deep three, silencing the Brooklyn crowd.
When the clock struck zeroes, the Fire escaped with a hard-earned 81-74 victory. With the comeback complete, Portland’s reserve center Gustafson offered her perspective to NBC Sports Network:
“Our identity this part of this season is just never give up, and keep fighting no matter what. We’re the underdogs every single game, and we take a lot of pride in that. I’m really proud of my teammates. We never gave up, we just never stopped fighting.”
Portland has now won two consecutive games, with a 4-3 overall record this season, and they will play again Wednesday night against the Connecticut Sun. Tip-off is slated for 7 PM.
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Matt Bagley is a professional sportswriter and broadcaster 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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