Carla Leite and the Portland Fire ruined Diana Taurasi's jersey retirement night for the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday, with the new WNBA franchise earning an 88-85 win in a tightly contested affair.
Portland got balanced offensive contributions from its players to beat a Phoenix team that is also attempting to make a playoff run. Leite led the way with a game-high 23 points, along with five assists and two steals.
The Fire bench also outscored the Mercury bench 29-15, which was a huge difference-maker in the win.
However, it wasn't all positive for the Fire despite surviving a fiery Mercury team. Leite, in particular, got in trouble with game officials and put herself in line to pay a fine.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
With 14 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Leite took a step-back jumper but was fouled by Mercury forward Marta Suarez. However, she was clearly not happy with the foul and began chirping after the play, prompting the referees to assess her with a technical foul, per Cydney Henderson of USA Today.
It was Leite's second technical foul of the season, which means she will be subject to a $500 fine.
The WNBA's rules state that a player's first three technical fouls are punishable by a $500 fine. The fourth through seventh techs, meanwhile, come with a $1,000 fine each.
Once a player reaches eight technical fouls, they receive a $1,500 fine and a one-game suspension.
Since Leite has largely avoided getting such violations, it doesn't look like she needs to be worried about reaching the technical foul limit.
