Instant Takeaways: Storm Tie Season-Long Losing Streak With Loss to Fire
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Seattle Storm guard Taina Mair (22) drives to the basket against Portland Fire forward Emily Engstler (21) during the first half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-Imagn Images [/caption]
Dominique Malonga and Jade Melbourne combined for 44 points against a short-handed Portland Fire squad, but the Seattle Storm once again whiffed on a clutch game victory in a 100-93 loss on Saturday, Aug. 8, at the Moda Center.
Melbourne set a new career-high with 23 points and five assists, while Malonga added 21 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks. The rest of the Storm’s starters struggled, however, and the bench had to contribute 32 points to keep Seattle (6-28) in the game.
Portland (13-19) lost its leading scorer early, but it got consistent offense from the entire team to win their second straight game. Bridget Carleton totaled a team-high 24 points, six rebounds and four assists. The Fire’s short streak comes after losing five in a row.
Here’s what we learned from the Storm’s 11th straight loss on Saturday.
Leite injury doesn’t faze Fire
The Storm held a brief lead in the first quarter before the Fire hit their stride. Portland took over from there and was red-hot the entire first half. Seattle had few answers for Carleton and the majority of the Fire lineup, and they shot 59% from the field in the first two quarters.
Portland lost Carla Leite to a knee injury in the first half, and she was declared out for the game before the break. Leite has been the Fire’s leader in scoring and assists this season, making it a major early loss for Portland. Still, the Storm struggled to keep up.
Melbourne led the Storm in the first half with 14 points, but the Fire still held a nine-point lead at halftime. Portland simply dictated the pace, converted at an extremely efficient rate and did a good job of limiting the Storm’s points in the paint.
Malonga was limited offensively because of that emphasis in the post. It allowed Seattle to pile up eight 3-pointers, but the Fire hit the same amount. That perimeter shooting evened out early on.
Leite was a big loss for the Fire, but they managed to get contributions from the entire lineup that propelled them forward. Portland led by nine at halftime.
Another clutch game failure
It was much of the same to begin the third quarter, as the Fire took a 14-point lead early in the period. Their offensive efficiency dropped a bit, however, and Melbourne helped take Seattle on a run with her career-best evening.
Melbourne had 22 points after three quarters, which was already the most she’s had in a single WNBA game. The Storm concluded the third quarter on a 20-9 run, which cut their deficit to just five heading into the final period.
Carleton cooled off significantly in the third, but points came consistently from almost every other player in the Fire’s starting lineup. Seattle couldn’t get back ahead, even though they came close — a common theme of the Storm’s games this season.
The Storm got within four with under five minutes remaining. But the Fire hit two straight 3-pointers, and Seattle missed one in between. That put Portland back ahead by 10 with four minutes left. Carleton re-emerged to finish the game with 24 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Seattle’s morale dropped after that run. Their body language was noticeably different, aware of the fact they may be on the cusp of blowing another late-game surge.
Unsurprisingly, the Storm came up short in another clutch game. Portland made all the shots Seattle couldn’t, and the Storm’s starting lineup struggled to convert much of anything, aside from Malonga and Melbourne.
Jordan Horston steps up off the bench
Horston has been one of the biggest disappointments for the Storm this season after missing the entire 2025 campaign with a torn ACL. She was removed from the starting lineup in favor of Melbourne and generally has not had a big impact offensively.
This game was different, as Horston was the Storm’s primary contributor off the bench with 17 points, three rebounds, one assist and a steal. Her previous season-high was 15 points all the way back on May 30 against the Toronto Tempo.
Though she remains a perplexing case for this year’s Storm team, this was one of the better games of Horston’s young career. It might help her regain some confidence on offense, also, which could lead to future wins in 2026.
The Streak
The Storm have now lost 11 straight games, which ties their previous season-long losing streak that stretched from May 27 to June 24. This one, however, has been over a longer period of time, as the Storm last won a game on July 9.
Seattle has surrendered 90 or more points in eight of those games and 100 or more in three of them. Though they haven’t had a good defense the entire season, this recent stretch has been especially bad. And Ezi Magbegor being back in the starting lineup hasn’t been the boost many hoped for.
Something has to change, and Sonia Raman still has to prove she is the coach who should lead this team forward. It hasn’t often felt like she can change a game just by drawing up advantages for the Storm.
Up next
Seattle returns home from its four-game road trip for a stretch of three straight at home. Two will be against the Chicago Sky, with the first set for 7 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 10.
