Portland Fire Narrowly Lose Slugfest versus Lynx
Over the long grueling dredge of a regular season, good teams often find a way to win. That held true tonight, as the four-time WNBA champion Minnesota Lynx, currently the top team in the W (28-7 overall), dispatched the Portland Fire 85-81.
Down star point guard Carla Leite, Portland was short-handed. In her absence, the Rose City attack relied on former Lynx shooter Bridget Carleton, who scored 16 points despite an uncharacteristic 1/7 three point shooting percentage. Carleton’s struggles on the perimeter were shared by her teammates, as Portland swished just 25.8% of their treys.
Minnesota, for their part, barely fared any better. Three point shooting was ice cold tonight, with the victors achieving just a 30% clip from downtown. Leite’s absence - sparked by a left knee sprain in last weekend’s win over the Seattle storm - proved the difference, as Minnesota outshot Portland at the charity stripe. The Lynx hit 19 of 26 free throw attempts, while Portland managed only 9 of 16 free throws.
The loss drops Portland to 13-20 on the season. On Friday, the Fire will rematch the Seattle Storm at 7 PM PST in the Emerald City.
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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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