Portland Fire Comeback Falls Short in Season Opening Loss, 98-83
In Portland's first ever regular season game, the Fire lost to the Chicago Sky 98-83
For twenty-four years, women’s basketball fans in Portland grieved the demise of their defunct Portland Fire WNBA team.
Shortly after six o’clock at night on Saturday May 9th 2026, that grief was replaced by joy, as the new WNBA expansion Portland Fire - reigniting the old team’s branding - tipped off the opening game of their inaugural season. At the final buzzer, the Chicago Sky defeated Portland 98-83.
Portland’s season-opening starting lineup was a mad science experiment, with point guard Carla Leite flanked by four long, skilled sharpshooters: Bridget Carleton, Emily Engstler, Nyadiew Puoch, and Luisa Geiselsöder.
Geiselsöder lept up and made contact with the jump ball, which was recovered by Chicago’s first round pick Gabriela Jaquez. A minute later, Portland’s emerging star Leite broke free thanks to a Geiselsöder screen at the top of the key, darted inside the paint, and banked a bucket off the glass. With 8:59 remaining in the opening quarter, the French point guard Leite made history with Portland’s first basket in their first ever regular season game.
Much was said this offseason about head coach Alex Sarama’s Constraints-Led Approach, a coaching philosophy that influenced every aspect of the Fire’s preparations for opening night, including player personnel decisions and practice regimens. In the opening minutes, fans saw Sarama’s methods bear fruit when Leite rifled a pass to top expansion pick Carleton, who slung the ball across her body to a wide open Geiselsöder in the corner for a game-tying trey.
While Chicago led after one quarter, 19-18, Portland’s showed remarkable improvement from their winless preseason: aggressive and confident three point shooting complimented an equally aggressive trapping defense. Second year guard Sarah Ashlee Barker led the Rose City with 7 points on a flawless shooting mark: 3/3 from the field, and 1/1 behind the arc.
Early in the second period, developmental player Frieda Bühner drove into the shoulder of Sky guard Sydney Taylor, then faked the fellow rookie outside, drove inside, and stroked nylons for the first time in her WNBA career. After an early timeout, Chicago led 26-20 with 8:12 remaining in the first half.
Midway through the second quarter, Portland still trailed. Needing a spark, Sarama tried out a new lineup: mainstays Puoch & Barker played alongside point guard Jordan Harrison, and posts Serah Williams & Megan Gustafson. While this lineup forced several turnovers, it struggled to convert those opportunities into points. With two minutes remaining in the first half, Chicago led 43-32.
In an effort to stop the bleeding, Leite was called back onto the floor. Moments later, her pass across the perimeter was intercepted by Sky guard Jacy Shelton, who raced to the basket. In the blink of an eye, Chicago’s advantage had ballooned to 15.
At halftime, the Fire trailed 50-37. Sarah Ashlee Barker led all Portland scorers with 11 points, followed by Luisa Geiselsöder’s 8 points, and Carla Leite’s 6 points. Reminiscent of the team’s two preseason losses, Portland’s aggressive approach was boom or bust: the Fire earned 4 steals and 3 blocks, but Chicago boasted a 52.9% field goal shooting rate, forced 11 fouls, and won battles off the glass 26 to 14.
Returning from the locker room, Fire assistant coach Brittni Donaldson spoke with Rose City SportsNet’s broadcast team, breaking down what Portland could take away positively from the first half:
“Chicago went on a little run. That’s okay, we can go on ours in the third quarter. I really think we had a lot of success trying to get downhill on offense, and then obviously defensively just continuing to be aggressive, trying to take them out of their actions and make it tough on them.”
Early in the third, Portland heeded her advice. Last season’s beloved Golden State Valkyries rookie Leite - affectionately dubbed The Leite Show by fans - drove inside, and forced a foul. On Portland’s next possession, pinpoint passing set up Puoch for an open three. Chicago’s next chance quickly died in the arms of the veteran wing Engstler, who intercepted the ball and raced across the floor. Each play inched momentum further in their favor, which was soon amplified by back-to-back Carleton three pointers. With 7:40 remaining in the third quarter, the sizable halftime deficit shrank to 3, inspiring a Sky timeout.
That pause briefly stalled the Rose City’s comeback effort, but the Fire closed the quarter on a 9-0 run. The highlight of their rally was a pair of Sky eight second violations forced by full court pressure. Entering the fourth quarter, Chicago led by the narrowest of margins, 68-67.
Following a game-tying Carleton triple, the lead swung back in Chicago’s favor. Consistently, the Sky pushed the basketball inside, racking up fouls. With 5:15 remaining, Portland trailed 82-74. The Fire’s next possession ended with a missed Leite three, no whistle after Barker hit the floo - inciting a chorus of boos - and a transition three. Now with 4:46 left, Chicago led by eleven.
Again and again, Chicago slammed the gas pedal, drawing fouls on Portland’s interior defenders. With three minutes remaining and a double-digit advantage on the scoreboard, Chicago had forced 8 Portland fouls in the quarter. Holding on to their advantage as the clock struck two minutes, the game’s victor was obvious, with Chicago on top 92-76. From there, it was merely a matter of dripping the clock to zeros. Portland’s comeback effort came up short, and Chicago won 98-83.
Starting point guard Carla Leite led all Portland scorers with 18 points, thanks to an impressive 11-of-12 free throw tally, while Kamilla Cardoso led Chicago with 22 points. Chicago’s center was buoyed by Skylar Diggins’ 21 points and Rickea Jackson’s 19.
The loss drops the Fire to 0-1, with consecutive games against the New York Liberty slated later this week. First, the two sides will square off Tuesday May 12th at Moda Center, with tip-off scheduled for 7 PM PST. Then, they’ll battle again Thursday night in Portland at the same start time.
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Matt Bagley is a professional sportswriter and broadcaster with a passion for women’s sports. Outside of work, he cherishes quality time with his birth family, his chosen family, and one very pesky house panther.
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