PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Megan Gustafson had 22 points and the Portland Fire held Indiana’s Caitlin Clark to six points in a 100-84 victory over the Fever on Saturday night. Carla Leite had 18 points and 12 assists, while Emily Engstler had 16 points and 10 rebounds, the first double-doubles for the expansion Fire. Portland has won four of its last five games. Aliyah Boston led the Fever with 18 points and seven rebounds. Clark played for 22 minutes, going 1-for-7 from the field with
two rebounds, six assists. She got into foul trouble, collecting her fourth in the third quarter, and finished with five. The Fever were coming off a 90-88 loss at the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday night. The Fire jumped out to a 29-15 lead after the first quarter after a layup from Gustafson, who led all players with eight points in the quarter. Portland’s dominance continued in the second quarter, with Sarah Ashlee Barker’s 3-pointer putting the Fire up 44-26 with four minutes to go
before the half. After leading 50-37 at the break. the Fire stretched the lead to 25 points in the third quarter. Barker capped the period with another 3-pointer that put the crowd at the Moda Center on its feet. With the Fire up 98-79 in the fourth quarter, coach Alex Sarama sat most of his starters. Clark did not play in the Fever’s May 21 game against the Fire in Indianapolis because of a back issue. The Fever disclosed her injury less than two hours
before tipoff, prompting a warning from the WNBA the next day for not reporting the injury sooner. The Fever beat Portland 90-73 without Clark. The game was a sellout with 19,347 at the Moda Center. Fever: Host Atlanta on Thursday night. Fire: At Golden State on Tuesday night.
Portland Fire, Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark, Megan Gustafson, Carla Leite, Emily Engstler, Aliyah Boston, Moda Center
6 points?? wow Portland really shut her down.
Wait so she was bad because of fouls? I saw something about her back issue too, like maybe she just wasn’t right. Either way 1-for-7 is rough.
Clamping her to six is crazy but also she only played 22 minutes so it’s like… how much is that even her fault? I feel like the Fever should’ve just not even let her go out there if it was a back thing. And why did they warn WNBA only after? Sounds messy.
Portland went up 29-15 and I don’t even watch WNBA like that but that’s basically a whole other league moment. Also they sat starters in the 4th with a 98-79 lead, that’s savage lol. Not saying Clark can’t shoot, but the fouls and then the back injury story makes it feel like she was doomed from the start. Moda Center was sold out right, so you’d think the Fever would’ve handled it better.