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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (May 17, 2002)
Jackie Stiles is all smiles just thinking about kicking butt on the court he Portland Fire’s third season is getting under way with a hand- * m ful of new players and high hopes. The W N B A team got off to || a rocky start its first year, win- ning only 10 of its 32 games. After a slightly improved M H | 2001 season of 11-21, the Fire is planning to blaze its way to the playoffs this year. Much of the spark lighting the trail is coming from an infusion of new players combined with the experi ence of veterans Jackie Stiles and LaQuanda Barksdale, says head coach and general man touches in the post. Barksdale, in her second ager Linda Hargrove. year with the Fire, and Stacey Thomas will In this season’s draft, the Fire acquired Los duel for the starting “3” spot. Angeles Sparks guard Ukari “Ukari gives us experience.. .and Figgs and Florida Interna tional University guard 'tf/T t'i- lt s experience at a championship ‘^ ¡| l| P j level,” 1 largrove notes. “Then we've Gergana Slavtcheva in got Jackie and ‘Q,' who should he exchange for Nikki Teasley much, much better this season after and Sophia Witherspoon. -'"’J having a year of experience under Also new to the team are f V their belts." Colorado guard Mandy Tt T « The W N BA assigned two free Nightingale, Arizona Srate W H agents to the Fire this season, for- center Melody Johnson and ward Amber Hall and center Florida guard Monique Leslie Johnson. The Fire waived Cardenas. Johnson, keeping its current roster Hargrove anticipates at 17. Point guard Tully Bevilaqua Figgs, together with Rook is on the suspended list while fin- ie of the Year Stiles, will 1 ishing out the playoffs for her help form a strong back- European team. court for the team. In her J M During recent practices, play- three seasons with the Sparks, Figgs played a piv ‘ ' j j H ers ^ave k°en workinS hard to * . improve overall quickness and otal role in helping lead j athleticism, Hargrove says. the team to the 2001 .* H | “W e have put in some new W N B A Championships. defensive schemes that will have Stiles is expected to us trapping some and will step up continue to he the big scor Vanessa Nygaard sums up the our defensive effort in general,” er, with Figgs and Sylvia coming season she explains. “I think our quick- Crawley getting their O J Driver’s wanted Portland Furniture “ It’s the best kept secret in town. I received unbelievable prices and excellent service on my custom order from Portland Furniture.” BASKETBALL MAS S O M E M O T HEW TALEÍ1T BLAZIMC imo a m Excm nc MEW SEASO n by Smino Ctßfioin PHOTOS BY Ï1ARTY DAVIS ness will allow us to put in some new defensive philosophies that will benefit us.” But that’s just a small part of what she’s hoping will happen on the court this season. “Our true strength is the work ethic that our team exhibits in each practice and each game,” the coach asserts. / “We are willing to work 9 harder than most, and that will eventually i pay off for us.” T h e big chal- Jp i tenges to reaching l } the playoffs this / year? Staying / % injury-free, for h one. Especially / The P o r t l a n d F ire kicks o ff the 2002 season 7 p.m. May 29 in a home game against the New York Liberty. Single tickets are $10-$50 and sea son tickets are $ 108-$ 1,350 from 503-797-9622 or wimv.firebasketball.com. S h a n n a GERMAIN is a Portland free-lance writer. From left, DeMya . Walker, Tamicha I Jackson and I Stacey Thomas * will be much tougher and meaner on ^ the court— ^ we swear JH | Auto, Home, Life & Business "Your Independent Insurance Agency" — (ireg G il hen D e lig n er o f S lep h a n o ’i Shadow Room Lisa Costello Personal VW Consultant P O R T LA N D flR E for Stiles, who suffered injuries late last sea son and spent some of the off-season recov ering from wrist and abdominal surgery. Beyond a healthy team, Hargrove says, “W e’re looking to be more consistent for 40 minutes on the court and from the start of the season to the finish...we’re in the tough West ern Conference, so we have our work cut out for us to be successful enough to make it to the playoff in the West.” J H Elliott, Powell, Baden & Baker, Inc On disp lay a l 503 372-3129 - vdublisa @ hotmail.com A >m 503.54fr.5468 w w w .p o rtla n d fu rn itu re o n h n c.co m 1971 W Burnside M a rc B aker D o w n to w n P o rtla n d ( 5 0 3 ) 2 2 7 -1 7 7 1 w w w .e p b b .c o m 602 SE 38th Ave. Portland, OR 97214 503.231.3922 Wed - Sat ejst 1PRUL M IT C H E L L
