The Portland Fire couldn’t keep up with the Las Vegas Aces and they fell 88-80 in their lone home game before heading back on the road. The Fire never led as the Aces were able to keep them at arm’s length throughout the contest.
Portland was led in scoring by Carla Leite’s 13 points. Leite made just 2 of her 6 attempts from the field, but hit 9 of 11 from the free throw line. Megan Gustafson was second on the team with 11 points in the contest.
Las Vegas was led by A’ja Wilson’s 32-point performance. She was helped by Jackie Young, who recorded 19 points and 11 assists in the contest.
Here are some key takeaways from the game:
A’ja Wilson was dominant in the game. She finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in the game. She also made 10 of her 19 attempts from the field and 11 of her 13 shots from the free throw line. Whatever the Fire threw at her, she beat. There was no way for Portland to stop her… or even contain her. She was the main contributor to the 42-24 advantage in points in the paint for Las Vegas.
Without any semblance of an answer for the MVP, the Fire were stuck playing catch up throughout the contest, not a winning game against a team of the Aces’s caliber.
For Every Basket, A Response
Throughout the game Portland hung around, just out of striking range. Every attempted run from the Fire was met with a basket on the other end, or a timely stop. It never felt like Portland was ever really threatening the lead, despite trailing by single-digits or low double-digits for most of the game.
Las Vegas just felt methodical. Of course, Wilson was a major part of that. But every player seemed like they were in the exact right spot to expose a defensive weakness or force a turnover. The Fire played hard and didn’t give up, but they were just clearly outmatched.
Late Third Quarter Collapse
Portland found themselves still within striking distance of the Aces deep into the third quarter. Emily Engstler made a pair of free throws to make the score 61-52 with just 50 seconds left in the frame. However, that was when everything went wrong for Portland. Las Vegas scored a layup, then forced a turnover. Kierstan Bell made a three-pointer with just six seconds left. A sloppy pass on the inbounds, then a foul on a shot from deep gave the Aces’ Chelsea Gray three free throws, which she made.
The result of that rough stretch was a 9-point deficit ballooning up to 17 points heading into the fourth quarter. Any momentum that the Fire had been building was instantly snuffed out.
Portland finished the game 11/32, good for 34.4% from deep. However, in the first half that number was just 3 of 15, or 20.0% from three. That struggle in the first half allowed the Aces to build up their lead early without a major threat of retaliation from the Fire. Portland was able to get hot in the fourth quarter to make their final percentage look better, but by that point it was too little too late as the hole was already insurmountable.
The Fire are back on the road, this time heading to Atlanta to face the Dream on Saturday, July 11 at 1pm Pacific.