Overview
- Portland sealed a one-point home win Monday after Sug Sutton’s lane floater with 22.6 seconds left, followed by Bridget Carleton’s two free throws and a final Connecticut heave that fell short.
- The Fire turned pressure defense into points, forcing 17 turnovers that became 27 points in what coach Alex Sarama called a messy yet confident effort.
- Balanced scoring carried Portland as Sarah Ashlee Barker and Carleton scored 18 each, Emily Engstler added 15, Sutton had 12, and Nyadiew Puoch chipped in 10.
- Connecticut fell to 0-5 as Brittney Griner led with 16 points and sat one shy of 6,000 career points, with 18 turnovers and 11-for-20 free-throw shooting proving costly.
- An announced crowd of 12,010 at Moda Center lifted the debut franchise, which now begins a road trip that opens at Indiana on Wednesday.