The Portland Fire crushed the Indiana Fever 100-84 on Saturday. The new expansion team dominated offensively and also managed to shut down Fever guard Caitlin Clark, limiting her to one of the worst games of her WNBA career.
The Fever’s frustration was clearly visible as the game got away from them, with Clark and head coach Stephanie White having a couple of animated exchanges.
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There was also a heated altercation between Fever forward Sophie Cunningham and Fire forward Emily Engstler. While dribbling, Cunningham’s hand hit the back of Engstler’s head. The two quickly squared up, but the referee intervened and stopped the matter from escalating. Nevertheless, words were exchanged between the pair and they both received technical fouls.
Engstler addressed the incident after the game, saying she was not one to back away from a fight.
“I don’t think you want to know what we were saying,” she told reporters as the room erupted in laughter. “It’s just basketball at the end of the day. I’m putting into words I’m allowed to say. No one scares me, and she sure doesn’t. I’m not going to stand there and let people talk to me a certain way, or hit me.”
Engstler had an impact on the box score as well, finishing with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.
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Portland dominate Fever
The Portland Fire produced a complete team performance. Six players scored in double digits. Megan Gustafson led the way with 22 points, Sarah Ashlee Barker had 15 points, Frieda Buhner scored 10 points and Bridget Carleton ended up with 14 points. Carla Leite posted a double-double of 18 points and 12 assists.
For the Fever, Caitlin Clark was limited to six points, shooting 1-of-7 from the field. This was only the third single-digit scoring game in her WNBA career. Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell contributed with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Sophie Cunningham chipped in with 15 points, but it was not enough for Indiana as Portland ran riot and registered its sixth win of the season.
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