The Portland Fire fell 100-82 in the rematch against the New York Liberty at Moda Center on Thursday evening. Megan Gustafson led the Fire with 14 points, while the legend Breanna Stewart fueled the Liberty with 22. Sabrina Iounescu and Satou Sabally were unavailable for the Liberty, while Karlie Samuelson, Holly Winterburn, and Carla Leite didn’t suit up for the Fire.

A very competitive first half was reasonably pleasing for Portland, as they were only down by two at the break in spite of their leading scorer in the young season, Bridget Carleton, going scoreless. At one point in the first half Portland even jumped out to a nine point lead, but it wouldn’t last.

The Liberty found their groove in the third quarter, outscoring Portland 31-16 in the frame to take a 17 point lead into the fourth quarter. The Fire made a spirited run at a comeback to start the fourth, but the Liberty’s advantage was never really in jeopardy.

Here are some things that stood out from the win.

Rough Shooting Night From Deep

After Portland shot 45.5% from three on Tuesday, the percentages dropped to 29% in the sequel. That percentage flatters the Fire a bit, as it hovered near 20% most of the evening until a fourth quarter flurry boosted it a bit. Portland didn’t quite have the Liberty’s zone defense figured out, leading to some settling for heaves and some awkward kicks-out forcing off-balance distance shots. Meanwhile the Liberty shot very well at 39.5% from beyond the arc on seven more attempts than the Fire. That differential was far too much to overcome.

Didn’t Get the Turnovers They Needed

Portland caught the Liberty a bit off-guard on Tuesday with their intensity, forcing 18 turnovers and turning those into 25 points. This time the Liberty had only nine turnovers, leading to just 11 Fire points. New York really cleaned up their play on the offensive end compared to Tuesday and the result reflects that.

The game was pretty much over in the third quarter, but you wouldn’t know it if you didn’t have the score bug at the bottom of the screen reminding you of the score. The Fire players kept up their intensity until the final whistle, and so did the crowd. It’s not every day you hear a crowd loudly over the TV audio chanting “Defense! Defense!” in the final seconds of a 18-point blowout. If the players can keep up the effort, they are going to win some games. If the crowds continue to show up and be loud, Moda Center may well become a very difficult place to play, perhaps sooner rather than later.

One more game at home before the Fire hit the road for a three game road trip. Portland will take on the struggling Connecticut Sun on Monday, May 20 at 7:00 PM PDT at Moda Center.