In a thrilling showdown that had fans on the edge of their seats, the expansion Portland Fire secured their first-ever victory with a dramatic 98-96 buzzer-beater against the New York Liberty on Tuesday night. The loss marked the Liberty's first defeat of the season, ending their perfect start.
Bridget Carleton delivered a career-best performance for Portland, lighting up the scoreboard with 26 points and sinking five 3-pointers. But it was Sarah Ashlee Barker who stole the spotlight in the final seconds. After a tense three-second violation call against New York with just 13.8 seconds remaining, Carleton's desperation 3-pointer clanked hard off the backboard. Barker fought through the chaos, grabbed the offensive rebound, and calmly put it back through the net just before the buzzer sounded, igniting a wild celebration as her teammates piled on top of her.
Carla Leite chipped in with 21 points and six assists for the Fire (1-1), while Luisa Geiselsoder and Kamiah Smalls each added 13 points. Barker finished with five points in 22 minutes off the bench, proving that every contribution counts in a game this tight.
For New York (2-1), all five starters reached double figures. Rookie Pauline Astier posted a season-high 24 points, and Marine Johannes added 18. Jonquel Jones contributed 17 points, Breanna Stewart notched 16 points and 10 rebounds with four blocks, and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton chipped in 10 points. The Liberty were again without Sabrina Ionescu, who sat out with a left foot injury but was spotted before the game in an Oregon sweatshirt, sharing a warm embrace with her former University of Oregon coach Kelly Graves.
The game was a 3-point shootout, with the teams combining for 28 made shots from beyond the arc. Carleton's triple with under three minutes left gave Portland a 94-91 lead, but Johannes answered with an off-balance 3-pointer as the shot clock expired, tying the game at 94 with 1:54 remaining. It set the stage for Barker's heroics.
Portland played in front of another massive crowd, following their home opener that drew 19,335 fans—the second-largest attendance for a WNBA home opener in history. The energy in the arena was electric, and the Fire fed off it to secure their first win.
New York will look to bounce back quickly, staying in Portland for a rematch on Thursday in the second game of a back-to-back set.