Overview
- Sug Sutton hit a go-ahead floater with 22.6 seconds left, which on Monday gave the Portland Fire an 83-82 victory over the Connecticut Sun.
- Portland’s aggressive defense forced 17 turnovers and generated roughly 27 points off those miscues, a defining factor in the win.
- Sarah Ashlee Barker and Bridget Carleton each scored 18 points, Emily Engstler added 15 and Sutton finished with 12 while the Fire played without Carla Leite and Kamiah Smalls and lost Megan Gustafson during the game.
- Connecticut dropped to 0-5 as Brittney Griner led the Sun with 16 points and sits one point short of 6,000 career WNBA points amid turnover problems, injuries and players still overseas.
- Both teams now face tough road stretches that will quickly test whether Portland’s defensive identity is durable and whether Connecticut can solve its roster and execution issues, and the announced crowd of 12,010 in Portland signals strong local support for the expansion Fire.