In less than a month, the WNBA expansion Portland Fire will finish their first season in the W.
Back in April, the upstart professional basketball team picked eleven players in the WNBA expansion draft. While some of those selections have faded into the background, two choices proved decisive in the Fire’s latest win.
In an 101-83 upset of the Atlanta Dream, Portland led wire to wire, thanks to the heroics of Carla Leite and Emily Engstler The second year French guard Leite dropped 26 points, and the locker room leader Engstler delivered 25 points.
For Leite, the game was just another outstanding night in a season full of them. The win marked the 12th time she’d scored 20 or more points this season, and the 31st time her point total reached double digits. However, Engstler’s night set a new career high for points scored, and tied her previous bests for blocks and steals.
Portland head coach Alex Sarama aimed a spotlight on the veteran wing in his postgame comments:
“[It was] obviously a terrific performance for Emily Engstler, a career high. She did a bit of everything. It wasn’t just the [career high] 25 points, it was the 4 steals, the 4 blocks, and the efficiency at which she did it.”
Fire was an apt descriptor of Portland’s shooting. Engstler finished 11/14 from the field, while Leite went 9/13, and the Fire shot 58% as a team. That success sparked an early lead that grew as the game progressed, with Portland on top 28-18 through one quarter, and ahead 52-38 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Atlanta inched within 5 with 4:13 remaining, thanks to a point-blank basket from Angel Reese. On the next Portland possession, Holly Winterburn hit a three pointer. With momentum regained, the Fire lead returned to double digits by the end of the period, and they never looked back.
Portland returns to action tomorrow night against the Golden State Valkyries, with action tipping off at 4 PM PST live from Moda Center.