Portland Fire Extinguish Dallas Wings 84-83 behind Historical Night from Deep

The Portland Fire secured a historic milestone on Saturday night, outlasting the Dallas Wings 84-83 at the Moda Center. The hard-fought victory marked the franchise's first-ever Commissioner’s Cup win and the first victory against a Western Conference opponent this season.

A blistering perimeter display and unselfish offensive flow powered the expansion squad past a dangerous Dallas lineup.

Carleton Leads From Deep as Offense Clicks

Bridget Carleton anchored the Fire’s offensive attack, delivering a team-high 20 points in her second 20-point performance of the year. Carleton was lethal from beyond the arc, hitting a single-game career-high 6 three-pointers on 10 attempts (6-of-10) before knocking down clutch free throws to help seal the game.

Portland’s ball movement was at a season best level, tying a team high with 26 total assists. Carla Leite orchestrated the offense, pacing the squad with 8 assists while chipping in 10 points.

"Season high, 26 team assists. What was so great is Carla [Leite] led us with eight of them, and that's been a big emphasis," Portland head coach Alex Sarama said postgame. "We know how well she can score with pressure on the rim, but I'm really challenging Carla to make her teammates better and I felt she did a great job with that."

As a unit, Portland drilled 14 of 31 three-pointers (45.2%), keeping the Dallas defense stretched thin all night.

Balanced Attack Overcomes Dallas Frontline

The Fire displayed excellent offensive balance, finishing with five players scoring in double digits:

Bridget Carleton: 20 points, 4 rebounds
Megan Gustafson: 16 points, 6 rebounds, and a career-high 4 assists
Emily Engstler: 11 points, 6 rebounds
Sarah Ashlee Barker: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Carla Leite: 10 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists

The Fire's starting five carried the overwhelming majority of the offensive load, combining for 67 of the team's 84 points. Off the bench, Luisa Geiselsöder and Frieda Buhner added critical depth, shooting 2-of-3 from deep apiece to combine for 12 points.

Video Credit: Kayla Plumer

Wings Fall Short Despite Late Surge

The Dallas Wings pushed the Fire to the absolute brink, executing a brilliant late game design to nearly steal the game on the road. Arike Ogunbowale led all scorers with 22 points, followed closely by Azzi Fudd (18 points) and Ashley James (17 points). Dallas center Jacy Sheldon listed as J. Shepard in the box score anchored the paint with a massive 13-point, 14-rebound double-double.

"Dallas is incredibly well coached, and it really stood out just throughout the game. Actions they run, just the intent, paired with the pace that they're playing at," Coach Sarama noted. "That was an incredible play they drew up at the end for the and one. Straight away, I was like, 'got to steal that one.' Credit to them. Nice to win and even sweeter tonight."

Despite winning the rebounding battle 41 to 32, Dallas struggled from deep, converting just 25% (7-of-28) of looks from three-point range compared to Portland's 45% efficiency.

Next Up

The Portland Fire (7-8) will look to carry this momentum onto the road as the team heads to Minneapolis to face off against the Minnesota Lynx at the Target Center on June 15 at 5:00 PM PT.