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Wednesday, Aug. 9 10:00pm ET
Reed scores 16 of 18 in second half to lead Phoneix | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- In the end, the Portland Fire just played too much like itself to finish the season with a win. Brandy Reed had 18 points and seven rebounds as the Phoenix Mercury beat the Fire 68-60 Wednesday night. Reed scored 16 points in the second half and hit three free throws in the final 1:24 as the Mercury (20-12) held off the Fire (10-22). Vanessa Nygaard scored 14 points, and Sylvia Crawley added 13 for Portland, which showed signs of life down the stretch but could never find its rhythm in the second half. The Fire dropped its last four games of the season and was streaky at best since the All-Star break. "It's very characteristic of our team that we've been inconsistent," coach Linda Hargrove said. "Not inconsistent with our effort, for the most part, but very inconsistent with our offense and our defense, and inconsistent with the level of play of players from one game to the next game." Even during the Fire's season finale, play seemed inconsistent from stretch to stretch. In the first half, Portland ran up a 23-15 lead only to give up a 14-5 run that put Phoenix ahead 29-28 at the half. In the second half, things seemed to be minute-to-minute. Adrain Williams added 12 points for Phoenix, which took a 46-36 lead with 12:29 to go on Reed's fastbreak layup. The Fire cut the lead to six after Crawley hit a pair of free throws and DeMya Waker made hit a jumper with 11:34 left, and the Fire seemed to have life again. But Reed answered with a three-point play and a pair of free throws to put the Mercury on top 53-40 with 8:41 remaining. Portland went 5:21 without scoring before Tara Williams hit a layup and a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 55-45. Lisa Harrison's 3-pointer then upped the lead to 13 before Michelle Marciniak's 3 -pointer cut the lead back to 10. The Fire then used its pressing defense force the Mercury into a turnover and a hurried shot. But Portland converted just two of six free throws and could only get to within 66-59. "I think it's inexperience, and it's just not being mentally tough yet," Hargrove said, noting that only three Portland players had previously completed a WNBA season. "Emotionally, mentally and physically that really started taking its toll." Sophia Witherspoon left the game with 16:26 left after spraining her right ankle, and did not return. She finished with 10 points. "That's not the way it's supposed to end," Witherspoon said. "But we've been a fighting team all season long. We started out fighting, and we wanted to end fighting, and we did." | ALSO SEE WNBA Scoreboard RECAPS Miami 68 Orlando 64
Phoenix 68
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