What the Portland Fire Said After Wednesday's Preseason Opener
Wednesday night, head coach Alex Sarama and several players spoke with the media.
Following their ground-breaking first ever WNBA preseason game, Portland Fire head coach Alex Sarama and the team’s two leading scorers - Sarah Ashlee Barker & Luisa Geiselsöder - spoke with the media.
This piece highlights several quotes from those conversations.
Alex Sarama’s postgame postmortem
“I think the word I’d use to sum this up would be very encouraged. We had eight players out, then nine, when Em [starting forward Emily Engstler] sprained her ankle, and everyone stepped up. So I think the way in which we lost the possession game - I think [they had] 28 second chance opportunities, and our 13 missed free throws - I think it’s very encouraging that it was a ten point game despite that. So, so much we can take out of that, so much [that] we’re going to get better as a group. Defensively, some really solid stretches if we take out the defensive rebounding. I thought our pick and roll covers were really disruptive. Our fullcourt pressure really got us back in that game in the end of the second. So, lots of positives from that one.”
Alex Sarama on his team’s high point Wednesday night
“I’d say that run we had in the second, when we really came back into it, that was cool just seeing the momentum, and how everything started clicking. Then even the halftime - just walking into the locker room - and they had some really good discussions using our terminology, using our language. So that was a great sign.”
Sarah Ashlee Barker on the significance of the team’s first ever preseason game
“Yeah, it was fun. Obviously just the history behind it with being able to put on a Portland jersey for the first time, and for this new franchise, it was a lot of fun, and just being able to be out on the court again was [fun], and not play against our practice players or each other. Just playing against another team and competing was a lot of fun.”
Luisa Geiselsöder addresses the same question
“Yeah, I think it was fun just stepping up on the court with all the girls. I mean, we’re all just mixed together right now. We’re still learning each other, but I think we did a really good job for the first game, and it was fun. It was just fun being out there. We really felt like a collective out there.”
Sarah Ashlee Barker on preseason mistakes
“It’s preseason. I think that you’re going to see things come together, and so obviously we’re just going to keep getting at it, look at the film, [and] come together as a team. But I think one thing we’re really proud of is in those sloppy moments, we stayed together, and that’s the most important thing. So being able to just stay together and understand that ‘Hey, we’re a week and a half in [the preseason] and camps and training’. So we know that it’s going to be a journey and a process, but staying together is the most important thing.”
Luisa Geiselsöder on representing the Rose City
“I think we’re all proud. We’re really, really proud. It’s like an honor to put on that Portland jersey. We all want to wear it with pride. We want to show what Portland is. We want to show how the fans are behind Portland. We want to play for the Portland fans. Like, we just want to show that identity. We want to show the hungriness, and we want to show the support that Portland has in women’s sports, and women’s basketball in general. We just want to put that on the court, and we want to show that to the world.”
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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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