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.
Gustafson’s perfect shooting puts her in rare WNBA company
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.”
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.
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.”
Portland Fire 2026 schedule
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.
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 scores career-best 22 in win over Fever, Caitlin Clark
Reporting by Cooper Worth, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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