The Seattle Storm suffered a 77-72 defeat against the visiting Portland Fire at Climate Pledge Arena on Saturday, July 4, 2026, marking their 12th consecutive loss against Western Conference opponents this season.
Dominique Malonga led the Storm with 22 points, but the team fell to a 5-17 record overall after failing to sustain an early 13-0 scoring run in the first quarter.
>>> Fireworks Malfunction at BMO Stadium Sends Projectiles Into Crowd
The visiting Fire, who improved to 9-12, were anchored by Carla Leite's 20 points, which included a perfect 12-of-12 performance from the free-throw line, while Portland also out-rebounded Seattle 47-31.
Ezi Magbegor recorded four points and seven rebounds in her second game back from a foot injury, drawing praise from her coaching staff despite the team's offensive struggles where they shot 33.8% from the floor.
"Another solid performance," said Sonia Raman, Storm coach. "Making the right reads, being aggressive, pushing the ball in transition.
Great looks in the interior, which — we really need to have that paint presence with her."
Raman noted that the center is making steady progress after returning to the lineup following her recent injury layoff.
"She continues to just keep taking steps, and we’re continuing to bring her along and happy to have her out there," Raman said.
Malonga faced early foul trouble that restricted her first-half playing time to under five minutes, a situation her coach attributed to the learning curve of a young interior player in the league.
