Second Round Rookie Frieda Bühner Leads Portland Past Connecticut, 71-61
Frieda Bühner scored 7 in the fourth quarter - and a career high 9 points on the night - to help Portland earn their third consecutive win.
On draft night, many Portland fans wanted the Fire to pick a recognizable college star. German wing Frieda Bühner didn’t fit the bill: the second round pick left Florida a month into her freshman season to pursue a professional career in her native country. Moments after the Fire made Bühner their 17th overall pick, scores of disappointed fans attending the Fire’s official draft party began to disperse.
Following tonight’s game, a 71-61 win over the Connecticut Sun, the young German guard earned the full respect of the Rose City. The former developmental player made several clutch shots and pivotal stops in the fourth quarter, helping the Fire come back from a fourth quarter deficit, and pull away on a 16-2 run.
Portland found success early by whipping the ball across the perimeter, forcing Connecticut’s defense to shift, and then striking inside. One such set was finished by Bridget Carleton, who posted up Sun wing Aneesah Morrow, spun back, and swished a jumper from the elbow. With ninety seconds gone, Portland led 5-2.
That ball movement forced Connecticut to defend the arc, creating opportunities for the pick & roll. With 3:50 remaining in the first quarter, guard Teja Oblak broke free on a screen from rookie center Serah Williams, surged into the paint, and drew contact. After the 5’8” Slovenian hit 1-of-2 free throws, Portland led by four.
Portland’s ferocious full court press - a recurring feature of Alex Sarama’s young team so far this season - made it’s presence felt early in the second quarter. An errant pass to Connecticut guard Hailey Van Lith was deflected by second-year German center Luisa Geiselsöder, and recovered by Carla Leite, who immediately crashed into the paint, inciting Van Lith to foul. Through the Fire’s first 7 games, Leite is shooting above 90% from the stripe, and after sinking two free throws she buoyed Portland’s one point lead with 8:55 in the second quarter.
Late in the half, the Fire began to pull away. First, pinpoint passing across the arc twisted Connecticut’s interior defense, freeing up center Megan Gustafson down low. Following her successful bank shot from the low block, Portland led by 5. The next Connecticut possession ended in the blink of an eye, when Oblak ripped the ball free behind half court. She tossed the ball to Gustafson, who found Emily Engstler cutting towards the paint, and suddenly the Fire led by 7 with 4:24 remaining.
At halftime, Portland led 37-27. The Fire’s feisty perimeter defense - which struggled to contain New York and Indiana earlier this month - held Connecticut scoreless from beyond the arc (0 for 13), and forced 11 turnovers. Bridget Carleton led the home team’s attack with 11 points and 5 rebounds, while do-it-all sixth player Sarah Ashlee Barker offered just 2 points, but notched 6 rebounds and a steal.
Coming out of the break, Portland assistant coach Danielle Boiago spoke with RoseCity SportsNet, and praised her team’s defensive effort:
“That was a focus for us coming off that New York game. We needed to just up our defensive intensity, and I think our disruption has been great, now we need to just take care of the rebounds.”
Momentum held early in the third quarter, exemplified by a Leite pick & roll dish to Gustafson close to the rim. At three minutes elapsed, Portland led by seven.
Following that basket, Connecticut stormed back with a 15-4 run. After Charlisse Leger-Walker posted up Barker with 6:29 remaining, the margin was trimmed to 3. Then, Diamond Miller ripped the ball free from Leite near half court, sprinting away for a fast break bucket. Moments after recovering a Carleton turnover and converting in transition, the Sun led 44-43 with 5:00 remaining.
With less than two minutes left in the third, Oblak kept the margin at 1 with a rapid heave backdoor to wide open rookie second-rounder Bühner. The German wing stayed in the spotlight on Connecticut’s next set, holding her own 1-v-1 against the bigger, longer Morrow, and rebounding her miss. Through three periods, the two teams tied 50-50.
The fourth quarter began with a scare. Jumping up for a contested rebound with 8:46 to go, Portland’s veteran leader Engstler took a shot to the lower neck from Connecticut guard Gianna Kneepkens. Despite the pain, the former Indiana and Washington rotation player - who broke out this preseason with Portland - stayed in the game.
Portland trailed by as much as 7 early in the fourth, but then lifted their game in the clutch. Coming out of a timeout, Alex Sarama dialed up more full court pressure, reaping rewards: distracted in a race to the midcourt logo, Sun guard Ashlon Jackson lost sight of Geiselsöder, who punched the basketball loose. In an instant, Oblak scooped the orange ahead to Geiselsöder, who rifled it across the floor to her fellow German, Bühner. Following a successful finger roll from the rookie, Portland seized the lead 56-55 with 5:37 left.
The run continued with another Bühner bucket, then a Carleton seven-footer. After Connecticut inched the margin back to a manageable three points, Leite and Bühner dropped back-to-back bombs behind the arc, lifting Portland ahead by nine with 1:54 left. At the final buzzer, the Fire earned their 5th win of the year with a 71-61 final score.
Carla Leite led all Fire scorers with 20 points, but Bühner’s contribution cannot be understated: the 21 year old from Georgsmarienhütte scored a career-high 9 points in 13 minutes - 7 in the final period - and shot 80% from the field.
The win moves Portland’s record to 5-3, good for sixth place in the Western Conference, and sets up a battle with 4-2 Atlanta on Friday night. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 PM PST.
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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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