The 2002 WNBA season was the 3rd and final season for the Portland Fire franchise. The team improved compared from their first two seasons, but playoff hopes were denied when they finished one game back for a playoff berth. The team later folded after the season.
| 2002 Portland Fire season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Linda Hargrove |
| Arena | Rose Garden |
| Attendance | 8,041 per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 16–16 (.500) |
| Place | 5th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Team Leaders | |
| Points | DeMya Walker 10.9 ppg |
| Rebounds | DeMya Walker 5.0 rpg |
| Assists | Ukari Figgs 3.4 apg |
Offseason
editWNBA draft
edit| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/School/Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Nikki Teasley (G) |  United States
|
North Carolina |
| 3 | 37 | Mandy Nightingale (G) | United States
|
Colorado |
| 4 | 50 | Melody Johnson (C) | United States
|
Arizona State |
| 4 | 53 | Monique Cardenas (G) | United States
|
Florida |
Regular season
editSeason standings
edit| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Sparks x | 25 | 7 | .781 | 17–4 | – |
| Houston Comets x | 24 | 8 | .750 | 16–5 | 1.0 |
| Utah Starzz x | 20 | 12 | .625 | 12–9 | 5.0 |
| Seattle Storm x | 17 | 15 | .531 | 10–11 | 8.0 |
| Portland Fire o | 16 | 16 | .500 | 8–13 | 9.0 |
| Sacramento Monarchs o | 14 | 18 | .438 | 8–13 | 11.0 |
| Phoenix Mercury o | 11 | 21 | .344 | 7–14 | 14.0 |
| Minnesota Lynx o | 10 | 22 | .313 | 6–15 | 15.0 |
Season schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29 | New York | 62-84 | Loss | 0-1 |
| May 30 | @ Utah | 64-69 | Loss | 0-2 |
| June 2 | Seattle | 47-57 | Loss | 0-3 |
| June 3 | @ Los Angeles | 72-89 | Loss | 0-4 |
| June 6 | Sacramento | 86-73 | Win | 1-4 |
| June 11 | @ Seattle | 70-63 | Win | 2-4 |
| June 13 | @ Minnesota | 46-60 | Loss | 2-5 |
| June 15 | Detroit | 67-60 | Win | 3-5 |
| June 18 | Minnesota | 59-51 | Win | 4-5 |
| June 20 | Indiana | 72-81 | Loss | 4-6 |
| June 23 | Houston | 58-71 | Loss | 4-7 |
| June 25 | @ Utah | 83-86 | Loss | 4-8 |
| June 26 | Orlando | 64-57 | Win | 5-8 |
| June 28 | Washington | 72-66 | Win | 6-8 |
| June 30 | @ New York | 54-44 | Win | 7-8 |
| July 2 | @ Cleveland | 68-64 | Win | 8-8 |
| July 3 | @ Charlotte | 76-73 | Win | 9-8 |
| July 7 | Sacramento | 74-59 | Win | 10-8 |
| July 10 | @ Minnesota | 75-72 | Win | 11-8 |
| July 12 | Los Angeles | 76-82 (OT) | Loss | 11-9 |
| July 17 | Phoenix | 73-61 | Win | 12-9 |
| July 19 | Houston | 70-60 | Win | 13-9 |
| July 21 | @ Phoenix | 87-75 | Win | 14-9 |
| July 24 | @ Los Angeles | 69-73 | Loss | 14-10 |
| July 25 | @ Sacramento | 80-81 (OT) | Loss | 14-11 |
| July 27 | Miami | 71-61 | Win | 15-11 |
| July 30 | @ Houston | 59-89 | Loss | 15-12 |
| August 2 | @ Washington | 67-65 | Win | 16-12 |
| August 4 | @ Orlando | 61-63 | Loss | 16-13 |
| August 6 | Utah | 69-82 | Loss | 16-14 |
| August 9 | @ Seattle | 74-83 | Loss | 16-15 |
| August 11 | Phoenix | 70-73 | Loss | 16-16 |
Player stats
editNote: GP = Games Played; REB = Rebounds; AST = Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points
| Player | GP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeMya Walker | 31 | 154 | 51 | 26 | 33 | 339 |
| Tamicha Jackson | 32 | 59 | 95 | 55 | 1 | 314 |
| Sylvia Crawley | 32 | 134 | 47 | 18 | 37 | 279 |
| Alisa Burras | 32 | 147 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 278 |
| Ukari Figgs | 31 | 80 | 104 | 25 | 2 | 264 |
| Kristin Folkl | 32 | 148 | 32 | 18 | 17 | 155 |
| Stacey Thomas | 32 | 94 | 67 | 42 | 12 | 143 |
| Jackie Stiles | 21 | 18 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 125 |
| LaQuanda Barksdale | 17 | 40 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 100 |
| Tully Bevilaqua | 27 | 33 | 44 | 22 | 3 | 84 |
| Carolyn Young | 19 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 83 |
| Amber Hall | 20 | 26 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 30 |
| Jenny Mowe | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |