Expansion teams Fire, Tempo set for first-ever matchup

The WNBA's two newest teams will battle on Saturday in Toronto, with both teams looking to build momentum in their inaugural seasons.

Portland (2-3) has posted a pair of close wins and three relatively lopsided defeats. The Fire are coming off a 90-73 loss at Indiana on Wednesday. Even with Caitlin Clark sitting out, the Fever rolled to a 16-point halftime lead over the Fire and cruised from there.

The Fire shot just 3-for-16 from 3-point range. Leading scorer and top Expansion Draft pick Bridget Carleton contributed 16 points, including two of those 3-pointers. Sug Sutton added 14 points and standout scorer Carla Leite had six points off the bench in 14 minutes in her return to action from an ankle injury after missing two games.

"We've got to find other solutions when our shots aren't falling," Fire coach Alex Sarama said. Sarama highlighted the glass, where the Fire were outrebounded 45-29 and are last in the WNBA with 27.0 rebounds per game, noting, "We've really got to come up with more."

Toronto (3-3) had won two straight but took a 100-72 loss at Minnesota on Thursday. The Tempo trailed by 13 after a quarter and never challenged. Toronto allowed the Lynx to shoot 55% overall and 42% from 3-point territory for the game, as the Tempo suffered their worst loss to date.

"We didn't bring the energy," Tempo coach Sandy Brondello said. "We didn't eliminate anything that we wanted from (Minnesota)."

The Tempo were paced by 23 points off the bench from Kia Nurse. The veteran tied her best scoring effort since 2021 and shot 6 for 11 from 3-point range. Rookie Kiki Rice, the sixth pick in the WNBA Draft, added 11 points and six rebounds. Leading scorer Brittney Sykes, averaging 22.3 points per game, was held to just six points on 2-for-7 shooting.

Saturday's game is the first matchup of the WNBA's two expansion teams. When Brondello was asked about comparing the two new teams, she demurred, saying, "We're not comparing ourselves."

--Field Level Media