Former Iowa women’s basketball star Megan Gustafson is enjoying her best start to the WNBA season in her eight-year professional career.
The 29-year-old is averaging 10.4 points and 2.8 rebounds for the expansion Portland Fire through the team’s first 10 games this season. She capped that stretch with a 22-point, 8-for-8 shooting performance in a win over the Indiana Fever on Saturday, May 30. In a game where much of the national focus centered on fellow Iowa alum Caitlin Clark, Gustafson stole the show, leading all scorers in a matchup that included Clark and fellow Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell, both top-10 scorers in the WNBA entering Saturday’s game.
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More: Caitlin Clark’s stats Saturday in Indiana Fever vs Portland game
Following the Fire-Fever game on May 30, the WNBA’s official X account posted that Gustafson was just the 15th player in WNBA history to score at least 20 points in a game while going perfect from the field.
“I have to credit my teammates — They’re the ones that are putting me in good positions, and thankfully today I was able to be efficient, and that’s kind of always been my goal,” Gustafson said in the postgame press conference. “I take a lot of pride in efficiency and just being able to be effective for my teammates.”
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Those 22 points were the second-highest single-game total of Gustafson’s pro career, trailing only the 24 she scored for the Las Vegas Aces in 2024. In the Fire’s inaugural 2026 season, they also rank second on the franchise’s single-game scoring list through 10 games, trailing only Iowa State alum Bridget Carleton‘s 26-point outing on May 12.
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Gustafson signed a two-year, $1.025 million contract with Portland this offseason after spending the past two years with the Aces. The 29-year-old also got emotional postgame, speaking about her appreciation for the opportunity to join the expansion franchise.
“I mean, we’re a bunch of overlooked players, and I think we all have a chip on our shoulder,” she said. “I’ve really never been respected as a basketball player until I’ve gotten here, so I’m really thankful for this team, this organization. They really believe in me.”
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Gustafson and the Fire will next take the court on Tuesday, June 2, in Commissioner’s Cup action when they battle the Golden State Valkyries at 9 p.m. CT on Fubo and the WNBA League Pass.
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May 9: vs. Chicago Sky, L 98-83
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May 14: vs. New York Liberty, L 100-82
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May 18: vs. Connecticut Sun, W 83-82
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May 20: at Indiana Fever, L 90-73
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May 23: at Toronto Tempo, W 99-80
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May 25: at New York Liberty, W 81-74
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May 27: vs. Connecticut Sun, W 71-61
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May 29: vs. Atlanta Dream, L 86-66
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May 30: vs. Indiana Fever, W 100-84
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June 2: at Golden State Valkyries, 9 p.m. CT
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June 5: vs. Phoenix Mercury, 9 p.m. CT, ION
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June 7: at Los Angeles Sparks,6 p.m. CT, NBA TV
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June 11: vs. Las Vegas Aces, 9 p.m. CT
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June 13: vs. Dallas Wings, 7:30 p.m. CT
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June 15: at Minnesota Lynx, 7 p.m. CT
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June 17: vs. Seattle Storm, 9 p.m. CT
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June 24: at Chicago Sky, 7 p.m. CT
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June 26: at Chicago Sky, 6:30 p.m. CT, ION
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June 28: at Washington Mystics, 2 p.m. CT
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July 4: at Seattle Storm, 8 p.m. CT
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July 9: vs. Las Vegas Aces, 9 p.m. CT
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July 11: at Atlanta Dream, 3 p.m. CT, CBS
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July 14: at Connecticut Sun, 10 a.m. CT
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July 18: at Minnesota Lynx, 7 p.m. CT
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July 22: vs. Dallas Wings, 9 p.m. CT, USA Network
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July 28: at Las Vegas Aces, 9 p.m. CT
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July 31: vs. Indiana Fever, 9 p.m. CT, ION
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Aug. 2: vs. Los Angeles Sparks, 2:30 p.m. CT, NBC
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Aug. 6: vs. Toronto Tempo, 9 p.m. CT
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Aug. 8: vs. Seattle Storm, 7:30 p.m. CT, NBA TV
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Aug. 12: vs. Minnesota Lynx, 9 p.m. CT
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Aug. 14: at Seattle Storm, 9 p.m. CT, ION
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Aug. 16: at Phoenix Mercury, 6 p.m. CT
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Aug. 21: at Toronto Tempo, 9 p.m. CT, ION
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Aug. 23: vs. Washington Mystics, 6 p.m. CT,
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Aug. 25: at Dallas Wings, 7 p.m. CT, NBA TV
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Aug. 28: at Atlanta Dream, 6:30 p.m. CT, ION
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Aug. 30: vs. Golden State Valkyries, 6 p.m. CT
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Sep. 17: vs. Phoenix Mercury, 9 p.m. CT
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Sep. 18: at Golden State Valkyries, 9 p.m. CT, ION
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Sep. 20: at Los Angeles Sparks, 6 p.m. CT
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Sep. 22: vs. Golden State Valkyries, 9 p.m. CT
Hawkeyes Wire’s Zach Hiney contributed to this report
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Megan Gustafson outshines Caitlin Clark in Indiana Fever’s worst loss
