INDIANAPOLIS — Forget the hair.
Indiana Fever assistant Tully Bevilaqua has a lot of fond memories about her time with the Portland Fire, but her noticeably shorter hair back then isn’t one of them.
“Don’t worry,” a pony-tailed Bevilaqua said Tuesday at Fever practice, flashing a sheepish smile. “My mom still reminds me!”
The Fever will host the Fire on Wednesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, and it will serve as a full-circle moment for Bevilaqua. The 53-year-old Australian is an advance scout and video coordinator for the Fever, but more than 20 years ago, she was one of the Fire’s founding players. Portland’s first WNBA team held its inaugural campaign in 2000. Bevilaqua recorded 2 points, four assists and a game-high eight rebounds in the Fire’s first victory over the Seattle Storm.
The Fire, however, folded in 2002 after just three seasons. It took 24 years for them to finally return as one of two WNBA expansion teams this season, the other being the Toronto Tempo.
“The team was on a momentum (swing), uphill in terms of crowd attendances, records, that kind of thing,” Bevilaqua said of those Fire days. “So, it was a real surprise, real disappointment, when we folded. So, to have it come back, it’s like we’re getting to finish that story or not finish it, restarting it. … They’ve got a huge following, and it just reminds me of the team from back in my day. They’re playing with the same integrity, fight. We were all like the sixth- or seventh-(best) players from rosters that have come together, and you can just see it with the way they’re playing out there. They’re playing with so much passion.”
Bevilaqua played for five teams across 14 WNBA seasons, winning a championship with the Storm in 2004 and spending six years with the Fever from 2005 to 2010. Despite bouncing around, her love of the Fire was never extinguished. Bevilaqua was a member of the Fire for all three years of their first iteration. The team went 37-59 and failed to make the playoffs during that span, but there were moments of triumph.
One that Bevilaqua holds close is Portland’s upset of Hall of Famer Leslie Lisa and the eventual WNBA champion Los Angeles Sparks in 2000. The Sparks were on a 12-game winning streak, which began with a 94-81 road win over the Fire, and were closing in on the Houston Comets’ 1998 record of 15 straight regular-season wins. (That record has since been broken.) In their rematch with the Sparks, the Fire shocked the WNBA world with a gritty 80-77 road victory, holding the Sparks to just 41.9 percent shooting from the field. Bevilaqua totaled 7 points, three rebounds and two assists to hand the Sparks their third of only four regular-season losses that year.
“No one expected us to win. … We were playing them in L.A., missing players. I think we’d gone down to the beach all morning to work on our tans before the game,” Bevilaqua said, laughing. “And we came out, and we won. And if you look back at our celebration after that game, it was like we’d just won the championship. But that’s how we played every game, and that’s how we felt (with) every win that we had.”
Fever coach Stephanie White experienced Bevilaqua’s passion for the Fire firsthand. In fact, both players participated in the first game between Indiana and Portland in 2000. Bevilaqua had 9 points, three rebounds and one assist in the Fire’s 68-64 win at Indiana. White finished with 7 points and one steal for the Fever. Indiana got its revenge later that season, defeating the Fire 73-58 in Portland.
“Playing out there in the Moda Center, Tully was an opponent back then,” White said. “One of my college teammates (at Purdue), Ukari Figgs, played for them as well. So, it’s always nice when you see teams that you’ve seen in the past. I’m happy for Portland that they got a team. I think that (area), the Pacific Northwest, is a great location for a WNBA team. But again, it’s another opponent that’s coming in.
“They’re a scrappy, tough team that plays with multiple levels of effort.”
Just like the old guard.
Last week, in their second home game since their revival, the Fire upset future Hall of Famer Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty. Portland’s Sarah Ashlee Barker secured the 98-96 victory with a put-back layup at the buzzer that Bevilaqua thoroughly enjoyed.
Of course, Bevilaqua won’t be rooting for the Fire when they take the floor Wednesday night in Indianapolis. Her allegiance is firmly with the Fever as they chase a championship this season, an effort spearheaded by their All-Star trio of Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston. Still, Bevilaqua said it’s been reinvigorating to see her former franchise have success, and she believes the emotions will hit her even harder when the Fever play at Portland on May 30.
“With every (team) that’s coming back, that’s an extra reunion for me once I’m fully retired,” Bevilaqua said of the WNBA’s plans to expand to 18 teams by 2030.
“Another team of mine, the Cleveland Rockers, is coming back into the league (as well). And now with all of the eyes on the league and the attendances, those arenas will fill out like we didn’t maybe back then. I can see those numbers are gonna be through the roof in attendances because they all want a piece of the action now.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Indiana Fever, Portland Fire, WNBA
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