The Portland Fire have finally broken into the win column. In a dramatic 98-96 victory against the New York Liberty on Tuesday, the expansion team claimed its first-ever win in thrilling fashion. Guard Sarah Ashlee Barker sealed the game with a put-back as time expired, setting off wild celebrations in Portland.
Second-year guard Sarah Ashlee Barker’s buzzer-beating put-back delivered the Fire their inaugural win. The Liberty were short-handed, missing key players like Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally, but still fielded MVPs Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones alongside All-Star Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. Despite the star power, Portland prevailed behind a career-high 26 points from Bridget Carleton.
Carleton, the No. 1 pick in the expansion draft, surpassed her previous personal best of 25 points set against New York in 2020. She was especially lethal from the deep right wing, sparking a 10-0 run that gave Portland its first second-half lead at 59-57. Though the Liberty reclaimed control and built an eight-point advantage, Carleton answered with a go-ahead triple to put the Fire ahead 94-91 with 2:52 remaining.
The game was far from over. Marine Johannès hit an improbable runner from beyond the arc to tie the score, and Jonquel Jones sank two free throws to put New York ahead by two in the final minute. But second-year point guard Carla Leite, playing through an earlier ankle injury, blew past Jones in isolation to knot the game at 96 with 27 seconds left. The Liberty then committed a rare offensive three-second violation, giving Portland possession. Carleton’s potential game-winning triple missed, but Barker snatched the offensive rebound and converted at the buzzer.
Portland is still without its full roster, with Karlie Samuelson and Sug Sutton sidelined to start the season. Yet the Fire had enough to grind out a dramatic first victory. Carla Leite finished with 21 points and a game-high six assists, while Kamiah Smalls added 13 points off the bench in her Portland debut. The Fire forced 18 turnovers, which yielded 25 points—including the game-winning basket.
