22 Turnovers in One Game? The Fire Are Handing Away Wins and Nobody's Fixing It

Okay, WNBA fans, what in the world is going on?! We've got two teams, the Portland Fire and the Los Angeles Sparks, heading into Sunday's matchup absolutely desperate to stop the bleeding. The Fire are trying to avoid their first-ever three-game losing streak, and honestly, after watching their last game, the biggest problem is staring them right in the face: they can't hold onto the damn ball!

Portland's Early Season Skid Is ALL About Those Turnovers

The Portland Fire, who looked so hot in late May with three straight Ws, have totally flipped the script, going 1-3 since. Friday's 78-72 loss at home to the Phoenix Mercury was a total gut punch, and the stats don't lie. They coughed up a mind-boggling 22 turnovers, which the Mercury converted into 23 points. That's just gifting the other team a full quarter's worth of points! It was also their third-lowest scoring game of the season, with all three of those duds happening in their last five outings. You can't win like that, period.

Coach Alex Sarama, who was literally named Coach of the Month for May after a 6-4 record, told The Oregonian, "I'm never gonna talk about wins or losses. That's just not my thing. It's a process. It's creating that culture." And hey, I get building culture, but when you're shooting 42.1 percent from the floor and giving the ball away that often, the process needs some serious adjustments. Sarah Ashlee Barker, a former Sparks first-round pick now with the Fire, had a team-leading 15 points in her first start, and Karlie Samuelson chipped in a season-high 13 off the bench, hitting 4 of 5 from downtown. But even those bright spots couldn't overcome the turnoverfest. Carla Leite (14.4 ppg) and Bridget Carleton (13.9 ppg) are usually their offensive leaders, but Carleton was held to a season-low six points on 2-of-9 shooting against Phoenix. Ouch.

Plum Is Back, But Sparks Still Can't Get a W

On the other side of the court, the Los Angeles Sparks are in an even deeper hole, riding a three-game skid. The first two losses came without their league-leading scorer, Kelsey Plum, who was out with a right ankle injury. Great news, she returned Friday! Bad news? They still dropped a 104-96 decision at home to the Dallas Wings. Plum didn't miss a beat, dropping 27 points, right at her 26.9 season average, and dishing out six assists. Ariel Atkins had 16, Dearica Hamby added 15, and Nneka Ogwumike put up 13 points and 10 boards. Balanced scoring, right? Sparks coach Lynne Roberts even said, "The ball was moving, we had balanced scoring (and) that's how we want to play."

So what's the deal? They're 4-6, and honestly, their defense is a mess. They are the worst defensive team in the WNBA, giving up an average of 93.0 points per game. That's a huge problem, no matter how many points Plum scores. Ogwumike told the Los Angeles Times, "We're all just kind of trying to figure it out, adding new pieces. I definitely felt more natural the first half, back to just having more of an open floor, but we'll continue to build off that trust." Trust is key, but so is getting stops!

Sunday's game is huge for both these teams. Which squad is going to figure out their issues first and stop the losing streak? I'm watching to see if Portland can actually hold onto the ball, and if the Sparks can play a lick of defense. Let's get it!

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This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.