u/TrackAndAce

The Leite Show spoiled DT's night and I love it because it was on ESPN, too. We had eyes on this game since we followed CC vs. AR's OT thriller, as well. Man, I just love everything about this team, they're so gritty and scrappy man. The games are entertaining down the stretch and they more than makeup for their shortcomings as a young team.

Shoutout to BC and the leader she's become for this team. I think the team has really been built off of the type of tough hard nose blue collar player that she is and they're following suit. She got that game winning block at the end after a rough shooting night and knocked down two key free throws to seal it. Obviously little Carla Leite is the MVP, that 4th quarter performance was awesome. Nobody could stop her, she was too fast.

Also shoutout to Jordan Harrison for her passing, she was key in those stretches finding the open shooters. She's starting to grow on me a little bit. Also, Frieda Buhner hit some key 3s throughout the game. She's going to be a dangerous offensive player in the future.

Alex Sarama is doing some real coaching, too, the last few games, he's gone with somebody different in that last starter's spot to close the game. It was Oblak against Minnesota, Winterburn against Seattle, and tonight and Samuelson. He rode the hot hands in these games.

I can't believe we reached win #15 this fast, even though I'll love to make the playoffs. This season is already a success to me even if we lose the rest of our games. It's crazy we're doing all of this without SAB right now.

Guys the future is so bright, we still got Iyana Martin and Nika Muhl on the way next season. That's the craziest thing about what's going on right now. That backcourt of Martin & Leite could be lethal.

Holly Winterburn was so awesome tonight! She's gained a lot of confidence these last few games. I've been begging for more minutes for her and I was justified in asking so, I loved Sarama giving her the honor to be with the closing unit tonight and grab that important rebound towards the end. The girl hustles and is a disruptor forcing turnovers on defense. Her passes are so pretty, she throws it into some tight windows. She actually reminds me of Bridget Carleton with her size, not as tall as her, but she got a nice turnaround jumper.

I actually really like the connection between her and Frieda Buhner, they need to tap into connection a little bit more because Buhner is a good slasher like Sarah Ashlee Barker was.

I don't know how many minutes Holly got tonight, but whatever she got tonight, I wouldn't mind seeing that from her the rest of the season.

I'm getting so excited about the future of this team. I can't wait until Iyana Martin comes in next season.

Probably not a popular opinion because some of the fanbase really likes Harrison and Oblak is the boring old player to some people, but this is the cold hard truth that needs to be said.

This was a great time to run into the Lynx with Carla Leite out. I think what's making Alex Sarama turn into a really good young head coach is that he's able to figure things out on the fly. I don't blame him for starting Harrison at point, but I knew that was going to be the wrong decision. She's still way too green for that kind of responsibility. Personally, and I was talking to a friend about this after last night's game, that neither one of us think she's a starting PG in this league. She's really good to give you a spark or energy off the bench. That needs to be her role the rest of the season.

Teja Oblak is a seasoned veteran overseas, I knew her experience would help the team chop that lead down and you saw Sarama stick with her on the floor over Harrison in that 4th quarter where Portland made their run. I think Oblak has to remain with this starting unit until Leite comes back. Hopefully, Leite returns next game, I think she almost played this game from what I heard, but needs a couple of more days to rest her injury.

Another thing is, too, I think Puoch should've been out there a lot more in that 2nd quarter. Her length and defense causes problems for teams. She needs to be out there more.

Another player I need to see more minutes from is Holly Winterburn, she's starting to find her groove lately. I love her size, as you can play her out there 1-3 and her defense causes turnovers. I love her sick passes, too.

Sarama has a lot to work with, but I just love how this team fights every game. It's rewarding as a fan to see all of these scrappy underdogs fighting every game and never giving up.