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
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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
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