The bus door closed on Holly Winterburn. Portland opened another one.
Aug 14, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Portland Fire guard Holly Winterburn (77) controls the ball against the Seattle Storm in the fourth quarter at Climate Pledge Arena.
Holly Winterburn scored a career-high 20 points off the bench on Friday, August 14, 2026, helping the Portland Fire edge the Seattle Storm 84-82 and complete a four-game season sweep, according to the Washington Post via the Associated Press wire. The 25-year-old British guard, waived by the Atlanta Dream in May before signing with Portland, had never scored in double figures in a WNBA game before that night.
Seattle Storm 82 - 84 Portland Fire · WNBA · 15/08/2026
| Game | PTS | REB | AST | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seattle Storm | Dominique Malonga | 9 | 12 | 5 |
| Ezi Magbegor | 13 | 8 | 3 | |
| Flau'jae Johnson | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jade Melbourne | 12 | 1 | 2 | |
| Zia Cooke | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| Awa Fam | 20 | 9 | 0 | |
| Stefanie Dolson | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Taylor Thierry | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mackenzie Holmes | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Natisha Hiedeman | 9 | 3 | 5 | |
| Katie Lou Samuelson | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| Jordan Horston | 12 | 11 | 2 | |
| Portland Fire | Amy Okonkwo | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Megan Dileo | 14 | 9 | 1 | |
| Nyadiew Puoch | 2 | 3 | 1 | |
| Bridget Carleton | 14 | 9 | 2 | |
| Carla Leite | 14 | 3 | 6 | |
| Holly Winterburn | 20 | 7 | 5 | |
| Frieda Buhner | 8 | 2 | 0 | |
| Serah Williams | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| Teja Oblak | 0 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jordan Harrison | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Emily Engstler | 9 | 5 | 2 | |
| Karlie Samuelson | 3 | 2 | 1 |
A career night built in a single quarter
Field Level Media reported that Winterburn checked into the game midway through the first quarter with Portland up 10-9, and proceeded to score the Fire’s final 16 points of the period. Portland closed the quarter ahead 26-16. By the final buzzer, she had finished 8-for-14 from the field, with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in 21 minutes off the bench, according to ESPN’s player page game note, which also listed her shooting splits at 1-for-5 from 3-point range and 3-for-3 at the free-throw line.
Seattle rallied late and trailed by just one point in the closing seconds, according to Field Level Media, but Natisha Hiedeman’s 3-point attempt from the left wing at the buzzer missed. The result pushed Portland to 14-20 on the season — its third win in four games — and completed a season sweep of the Storm. Bridget Carleton added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Fire, while Carla Leite, back from a brief injury absence, chipped in 14 points and six assists.
Entering the night, Winterburn was averaging 2.5 points per game with a previous career best of six points, according to Field Level Media. The 20-point outing marked, in ESPN’s words, “the first time” she reached double digits in a WNBA game.
From a waiver claim to a bus door
Three months earlier, Winterburn’s WNBA career had nearly ended before it started. On May 9, 2026, the Atlanta Dream claimed guard Aaliyah Nye off waivers and, to make roster room, waived Winterburn the same day, according to an official Atlanta Dream release: “The Atlanta Dream has claimed guard Aaliyah Nye off waivers, the organization announced today. In doing so, the Atlanta Dream also waived guard Holly Winterburn.”
- Position : Shooting Guard
- Height : 180 cm
- Age : 25 y/o
- Nationality : Great Britain
- Club : Portland Fire
Stats 2026-2027 / WNBA
| PTS | 3.3 | #166 |
|---|---|---|
| REB | 1.1 | #177 |
| AST | 2.0 | #72 |
She was waived shortly before boarding the team bus for the season opener, according to KXAN. She addressed the moment on Instagram, in a message reported by KXAN: “I thought my welcome to the W moment would happen on the court, not as I’m getting on the bus for my first ever game. But that’s the reality of this business & I will always be grateful for the opportunity Atlanta gave me. I’m built for this. Thank you to everyone who has checked in on me & sent love. Everything happens for a reason and I’m so excited for what’s next.”
Winterburn had signed a training camp contract with Atlanta back in February 2025 and had made the Dream’s 12-player opening night roster on May 7, according to Hoopsfix. Per KXAN, her only preseason appearance produced 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals — a glimpse of what was still to come elsewhere.
Portland’s fast vote of confidence
The Fire moved quickly. On May 13, 2026, Portland signed Winterburn to a developmental contract, per KXAN, just days after her release from Atlanta. That arrangement did not last long: eight days later, on May 21, 2026, Portland converted her deal to a standard contract, according to KPTV/FOX12, in a transaction that also saw the Fire waive three players, per KPTV/FOX12. ESPN’s official Portland transaction log corroborates the same date for her change in status.
That progression — from a developmental contract to a standard contract in barely a week — signaled an early institutional bet on Winterburn well before the numbers caught up. By the time she torched Seattle for 20 points, she was on a standard contract and competing for minutes, alongside Teja Oblak and Jordan Harrison, according to ESPN. She had also logged double-digit minutes in six of her previous seven appearances heading into the Seattle game.
Oregon, six years later
Winterburn’s basketball story runs through the same state that now employs her. Born in Northampton, England, on October 1, 2000, she played for the Oregon Ducks during the 2019-2020 season, according to ESPN and KPTV, before her path took her back to Europe. KGW, the Portland-area outlet, framed her 2026 signing plainly: “Former Oregon Duck gets second chance in WNBA with Portland Fire.”
Six years after that Oregon season, the 1.80m guard found herself back in the state, this time wearing Fire colors.
A rare British path
Hoopsfix reported that her selection to Atlanta’s opening night roster in May made her the first homegrown British guard to make a WNBA roster, a distinction independently corroborated by Fox5 Atlanta. That backstory adds weight to a season line that, three months later, includes a career night on the road and a four-game season sweep of the Storm.
For now, Winterburn remains in a three-way competition for playing time with Oblak and Harrison, per ESPN. But after 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals against Seattle, the Fire have a fresh reason to keep testing her in bigger doses down Portland’s stretch run.
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