Portland Fire point guard Carla Leite saved the day twice for the Portland Fire but asking her to come up with heroics a third time proved too much in a 124-123 quadruple overtime loss at the Washington Mystics on Sunday afternoon.
The Fire competed in only the second four-overtime game in WNBA history, and the first since 2001. Sunday’s marathon matchup lasted three hours and 35 minutes, featuring 21 ties and 13 lead changes.
Portland seemed doomed, trailing 87-84 with the Mystics at the free-throw line and only 0:08 on the clock. Washington missed both free throws, Leite snagged the rebound and raced down the sideline, launching an off-balance desperation shot that hit the glass and found its way through the hoop to force overtime.
Again down three late in the first overtime, and Leite pulled up several steps behind the arc and hit another tying 3 to keep the game going.
Teammate Brandi Carleton stepped up late in the third overtime, hitting a turnaround fadeaway shot from the baseline with 0:03 left to force the historic fourth extra period.
Leite converted a layup to put Portland up 120-118 with 1:25 to play, but back-to-back layups by Sonia Citron put the Mystics up two down the stretch.
Leite drew a foul on a drive to the basket, making 1 of 2 at the free-throw line to make it a one-point game in the final seconds. Portland’s Serah Williams grabbed the rebound on the miss, but the Fire missed a pair of shots in the paint that would have won the game.
Citron logged more than 52 minutes and finished with a game-high 32 points. Leite matched that effort for the Fire, ending the game with 32 points and nine assists.
Portland (8-12) is back in action on Saturday, July 4, ending their road swing in Seattle.