Instant Takeaways: Storm Post Worst Offensive Game of 2026 in Loss to Fire
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Seattle Storm guard Jade Melbourne (5) assesses the floor during their 77-72 loss to the Portland Fire on Saturday, July 4, at Climate Pledge Arena. Credit: Courtesy of Seattle Storm [/caption]
A few games removed from a potential resurgence, the Seattle Storm dropped back into being one game out of last place in the entire WNBA following a 77-72 loss to the Portland Fire on Saturday, July 4, at Climate Pledge Arena.
Seattle (5-17), after getting two wins against top teams last week, has fallen back into the low-efficiency scoring and poor defense that made them one of the worst teams in the league this season. The spark is flickering out after it once began to burn brighter than ever before.
Portland (9-12) snapped a three-game skid with the win. Their last win before Saturday was against the Storm on June 17 — highlighting how, like against the Mercury, the Storm just matchup horribly against specific squads. Carla Leite led the Fire with 20 points, three rebounds and four assists.
Regardless, the Storm are 0-2 in their four total matchups against the Fire, with two yet to be played. If they can get back on track, Seattle could split the series later in the campaign.
Here’s what we learned from the July 4 Storm game that lacked any fireworks.
Starting strong, falling miserably
The first and second quarters were complete opposites of each other. Seattle led by 10 points at the end of the opening period, led by Natisha Hiedeman with nine points.
Neither team shot the ball well, and Portland was much more assertive in the second quarter than the Storm were. Each shot ample 3-pointers, but neither could connect. Turnovers were the only regular occurrence, and it led to sloppy basketball on both ends.
A defensive game ended up leaning in favor of the Fire. The Storm weren’t getting offense from Dominique Malonga, their No. 1 scoring option, and it reflected on the scoreboard.
Storm head coach Sonia Raman began to dip deeper into the lineup to find offense. What has regularly been an eight-player rotation expanded to 10, partly because Ezi Magbegor and Jordan Horston were back healthy. But this was a game where it just made sense based on the performance of the Storm’s starters.
The Fire took a slim 32-30 advantage into halftime, led by Emily Engstler’s nine points but powered by a well-balanced attack. Portland just had more consistency across the board, and adjusted to what Seattle showed them. The Storm did not.
Lack of scoring options is Storm’s demise
It continued to be a defensive game into the second half. The Storm’s 34% shooting was their worst performance of the season, immediately after having the best stretch of the 2026 campaign over the last four games.
Although the Fire didn’t shoot well either, one bad trend has reared its ugly head lately for the Storm: playing without fouling.
Portland attempted 25 free throws to the Storm’s 18, marking the 13th game this season Seattle has attempted fewer shots from the stripe than its opponent. Seven of those occurrences have come in just the team’s last eight games.
It’s costing them games, particularly in the close ones, and consistently shifts momentum back to their opponents. Raman has to get it cleaned up with her young, inexperienced squad moving forward.
Malonga came alive in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to push the Storm over the edge. She finished with 22 points, five rebounds and one assist. Hiedeman totaled 15 points, four assists and four steals. Awa Fam also tallied 12 points, three rebounds, four steals and a block.
The Storm lacked offense from their regular scoring options, and it hurt them mightily against another physical team.
What is missing after previous win streak?
When the Storm beat the Liberty and Dream, they received contributions from the entire lineup, passed the ball with purpose and defended with effective restraint. None of those factors have existed the last two games.
On Saturday, Flau’jae Johnson finished with one point, which was a career low since entering the WNBA as the No. 8 overall pick in this year’s draft. Jade Melbourne had five points, and Malonga only got to her 20-plus-point mark by taking 17 shots.
Malonga has to be efficient for the Storm to perform their best. Her offense forces opponents to try to shut her down, which opens the door for others to flourish. The entire lineup has to play well for this team to win games. When they don’t, this is the result.
Up Next
The Storm will go on the road to face the Los Angeles Sparks (8-10) and former Seattle veterans Nneka Ogwumike and Erica Wheeler for the first time this season at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 6.
