Tuesday night’s game against the Valkyries, the No. 2 team in the league, began brutally—the Fire were down 17-0 with only three minutes left in the first quarter before they scored. But the second they did, fans were on their feet. Many of them remained there for much of the game, just like they have all season. And they were rewarded: Portland came back from that deficit to win the game 90-82 in overtime, the team’s largest comeback win in franchise history.
As of 2026, there are 15 teams in the WNBA. That’s a big deal for anyone who has been watching for longer than this season, because last year there were 13, and for many years, there were only 12. By 2030, there will be 18 teams in the league. After that? The sky may well be the limit.
But there is only one WNBA team in Portland, and it’s a special one.
Appropriately, the Fire has been the black sheep of the WNBA all season. The announcement that GM Vanja Černivec hired Alex Sarama, as head coach left plenty of people scratching their heads. Černivec herself tends to confuse people; she loves to try out the unexpected, like drafting European players you’ve never heard of to join a team that’s brand new. She loves to believe in the team she puts around her.
That team includes the coaching staff. In addition to Sarama, the Fire is helmed by Sefu Bernard, Danielle Bioago, Sylvia Fowles, and Brittni Donaldson, not to mention a lengthy list of crew members who oversee everything from stats and analysts, to ticket sales to relationships with the media, to keeping the locker room organized, to security, to ushers helping fans to their seats to… everything. The Portland Fire is a team of 12 athletes, but it’s also a team of hundreds of people.
Really, the Portland Fire is a team of thousands, because fans are its heartbeat.
It was fans who showed up to sell out the Moda Center for the team’s first game since 2002. Over 19,000 people packed the Fire Pit, and even though the Fire lost 98-83 to the Chicago Sky, the vast majority of those fans kept showing up. The first Fire win—that one with the epic Sarah Ashlee Barker shot right at the end—inspired a strong fan movement. Fans haven’t wavered, and that’s been noticed.
Fans were top of mind for Sarama Tuesday night, when he entered the postgame press conference practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. It took the Fire a little bit to get going against the Valkyries, but once the team started, they didn’t stop. Fans were at first cautious, then optimistic, then fully thrilled as the team steadily chipped away at the Valkyries’ first-quarter lead. The Fire, who were battling after losing three games in a row, proved once again, for one last time this season, that relentlessness is baked into their core.
Hopes of a comeback were fueled by a second quarter that saw the score somehow at 29-26, the team within one possession of the Valkyries with just under four minutes left. DiLeo sank a shot that brought that up to 29-28. Though each bucket was answered by the Valkyries, the Fire kept pace. Engstler pushed the score to 31-30; Carleton made it 33-32 with 1:40 on the clock before the half. A pass from Leite to DiLeo and a pair of foul shots tied the game with 33 seconds left in the first half, and all of a sudden it became clear: we had a ballgame on our hands.
The Fire came out for the second half ready to close the night in their favor, and the Valkyries’ lavender armor began to fall. Leite seemed to suffer an almost-scary injury in the fourth that could have derailed everything, but the rest of the team—Osbourne, Jordan Harrison, Carleton, Engstler, DiLeo, Karlie Samuelson, Frieda Bühner—kept going. Leite returned and, suddenly, The Leite Show was on.
Leite pushed the game into overtime, then sealed the deal with a monster three that had the entire Fire Pit on their feet. In the end, the Fire not only won, they won decisively.
There are a few things to know about Sarama: first and foremost, he is actually as nice as he seems. As much as Fire fans might want a crash out, or even a (Las Vegas Aces head coach) Becky Hammon-style ejection over a bad call (who knows, maybe they’ll get it one day), Sarama is measured. He’s thoughtful, takes his time, and trusts the people around him.
Those people include everyone who has kept showing up.
“I want to start really in the statement by thanking the fans,” Sarama said. “I think that’s really important. You know, wins like tonight would just be impossible without you guys.”
What’s been created in Portland is “special,” said Sarama. “I think the rest of the league is noticing.”
Bridget Carleton, Megan DiLeo, and Carla Leite also noticed. The trio was part of the group of five teammates who all scored in the double digits last night. Carleton, the Fire’s first pick in this year’s expansion draft, ended the night with 26 points; DiLeo with 14 points and 8 rebounds; and Leite with 18 points and six assists. Emily Engstler added on another 11 points and 11 rebounds, and newcomer Charisma Osbourne had 11 points of her own.
Carleton, who grew teary during a postgame on-court interview, told reporters in the press room that a) she just “shed a tear,” and b) the strong emotions are part of the game. They certainly aren’t something she needs to apologize for (we love tears in Portland).
“I think I felt a lot of emotions—from the support and how proud I was of the team, and the season all of us had,” she explained. “It means a lot to me to be here.”
The 90-82 win over her former team meant a lot to Leite, too. The French-born Leite, who is fond of telling both her teammates and reporters “that’s too complicated for me” with a grin when she possibly doesn’t want to answer a question, admitted she really wanted to beat the Valkyries “just one time” this season.
“Sometimes I just remind myself… last year was so hard for me,” Leite said. “I really enjoyed my time there, but my role here is really different. My teammates and staff just let me be who I am on the court… like BC [Carleton] said, just special to be here.”
DiLeo brought things home. “It’s super special that we can reignite what the Fire is all about, what [the original team] were about, and what we’re going to continue to do,” she added. “It’s been a really fun season. Obviously, we’re super young, and we’re going to keep growing and learning from each other… it’s going to be even better next year.”
Topping this season’s finale will be a tall—and exciting—order. But it’s clear that everyone involved in the Fire organization not only appreciates one another and the fans, but the city of Portland, too. Rose City is actually the epicenter of women’s sports, Sarama said last night.
“There’s no place in the world like this for women’s sports,” he explained. “I think we’ve seen that … it’s a feeling like no other.”
The Portland Fire will be back in 2027. They hope you will be, too.