The Aporia · Ciezki has 22 points in the Mercury's 94-91 victory over the Fire

Ciezki has 22 points in the Mercury's 94-91 victory over the Fire

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Peterson, A. M. (2026, September 18). Ciezki has 22 points in the Mercury's 94-91 victory over the Fire. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/ciezki-has-22-points-in-the-mercury-s-94-91-victory-over-the-fire/article_bfdfdfa5-bf1d-5fa6-87a6-00ffdf8ea081.html

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Quick Summary

Shay Ciezki scored 22 points off the bench as the Phoenix Mercury won a close game against the Portland Fire, 94-91, in Oregon on Thursday night. Both teams had returned from the FIBA World Cup break and were already eliminated from playoff contention. The Mercury, led by Emily Engstler with 21 points and five 3-pointers, overcame a deficit to win despite missing several key players due to international competition commitments.

Written by AI on 2026-09-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Shay Ciezki scored 22 points off the bench as the Phoenix Mercury secured a 94-91 victory over the Portland Fire on Thursday night. This was their first game back after the FIBA World Cup break. Emily Engstler led the Fire with 21 points, while Holly Winterburn contributed 18 points. Both teams had players unavailable due to participating in or recovering from the World Cup; notably, Phoenix's Kahleah Cooper won a gold medal for the United States, and Portland's Carla Leite earned silver for France. Despite their efforts, neither team remains in playoff contention: the Fire stand at 16-25 and the Mercury are 15-26. The game saw Phoenix pull ahead in the fourth quarter with key plays from Alyssa Thomas and Sami Whitcomb to secure the win.

Written for “WNBA Game Highlights” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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Leite has big baskets in overtime as the Fire end the season with a 90-82 win over the Valkyries Different event

Toronto Star

Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 64/100

“The articles describe different games involving the Portland Fire team, but on separate dates and against different opponents.”

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0 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

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takes no side on a contested political question

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64/100

Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Who wrote this

Anne M. Peterson

23 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

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Also by Anne M. Peterson

Jaxon Smith-Njigba has 150 receiving yards and a score in the Seahawks' 20-3 win over the Chiefs

2026-10-26 · Toronto Star

Oregon fires offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer after a loss to Illinois

2026-10-25 · Toronto Star

Seattle RB Chabonnet won't return this weekend against the Chiefs

2026-10-24 · Toronto Star

The Seahawks prepare to face former teammate Kenneth Walker III while Zach Charbonnet could return

2026-10-22 · Toronto Star

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 23 articles by Anne M. Peterson →

Claims (13 extracted, 0 hedged)

Shay Ciezki had 22 points off the bench and the Phoenix Mercury rallied in the fourth quarter for a 94-91 victory over the Portland Fire on Thursday night in the teams’ first game back from the FIBA World Cup break. asserted

Mercury → have → break

Emily Engstler had 21 points and five 3-pointers for the expansion Fire, who have lost five of their last six. asserted

who → have → six

Holly Winterburn added 18 points. asserted

Winterburn → add → points

Both teams have been eliminated from playoff contention. asserted

teams → eliminate → contention

The Fire (16-25) were without Carla Leite, who won the silver medal with France at the World Cup, as well as Megan DiLeo, who played for third-place Spain. asserted

who → win → Spain

Frieda Buhner, with hosts Germany, and Amy Okonkwo, captain of Nigeria, played. asserted

Buhner → play → Nigeria

The Mercury (15-26) were without Kahleah Cooper, who won gold with the United States, along with Valeriane Ayayi (France) and Kyara Linskens (Belgium). asserted

who → win → Ayayi

The Mercury was also missing Kelsey Plum, who has a left calf injury. asserted

who → miss → injury

Bridget Carleton did not play for the Fire because of an ankle injury. asserted

Carleton → play → injury

Phoenix pulled ahead in the fourth, going up 82-79 after Alyssa Thomas hit a pair of free throws with 4:58 left. asserted

Thomas → pull → 4:58

Sami Whitcomb’s pullup jumper extended the Mercury’s lead. asserted

jumper → extend → lead

Down 90-88, the Fire got the ball on a Mercury shot clock violation, but Karlie Samuelson missed a 3-point attempt with 21.4 seconds left and Natasha Mack made free throws for Phoenix. asserted

Mack → get → Phoenix

Winterburn’s 3-pointer for Portland with 4.3 left cut gap to 92-91, and the Mercury closed it out with free throws. asserted

Mercury → leave → throws

Ciezki has 22 points in the Mercury's 94-91 victory over the Fire

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Claims (13 extracted, 0 hedged)