The Portland Fire have finally secured a win. The expansion team, which revived an earlier franchise that played in the WNBA from 2000 to 2002, earned its first victory of the season on Tuesday, defeating the New York Liberty 98-96. Second-year guard Sarah Ashlee Barker provided the game-winner on a put-back as time expired, sparking wild celebrations.
The Liberty were shorthanded, missing Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally among others, but still started MVPs Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones alongside All-Star Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. Despite this, the Fire emerged victorious, powered by a career-high 26 points from Bridget Carleton.
Carleton, the No. 1 pick in the expansion draft, surpassed her previous career best of 25 points against New York in 2020, setting a new mark once again against the Liberty on a historic night in Portland. She was especially effective from the deep right wing. The Fire took their first lead of the second half at 59-57 with a Carleton 3-pointer that capped a 10-0 run. New York regained control and went up by as many as eight, but Carleton gave Portland the lead again at 94-91 with 2:52 remaining.
However, the Fire weren’t safe yet. Marine Johannès hit an improbable runner from three-point range at the end of the shot clock to tie the score, and the Liberty went ahead by two in the final minute on two free throws from Jones. But second-year point guard Carla Leite, who had hurt her ankle earlier in the evening, blew past Jones in isolation to tie the score at 96 with 27 seconds to play. New York then turned the ball over on a rarely seen offensive three-second violation, giving Portland the chance to put the ball in Carleton’s hands for the win. Though her 3-pointer missed, Barker grabbed the offensive rebound and scored the game-winner.
The Fire are still not at full strength, with Karlie Samuelson and Sug Sutton injured to start the season. Yet they managed to eke out their first victory in dramatic fashion, a moment that fans in Portland will not soon forget. Leite finished with 21 points and a game-high six assists, while Kamiah Smalls added 13 points off the bench in her debut for Portland. The Fire forced 18 turnovers, leading to 25 points, including the game-winning points.