Upstart Portland Fire goes for sweep of New York Liberty

The ending came straight out of a movie.

Sarah Ashlee Barker rebounded Bridget Carleton's missed 3-pointer and stuck it home as time expired Tuesday night to lift the Portland Fire to the first win of their second WNBA iteration, a 98-96 upset of the visiting New York Liberty.

Barker and Portland will try for a surprising sweep Thursday night when the teams finish their two-game series in Portland.

"It was a surreal moment after a rough game," Barker said. "You know you do the little things and as long as you play hard, you're rewarded in the end. The togetherness, the love, the grit -- it's special and something I'll always remember."

The Fire (1-1) outgunned the Liberty in a high-tempo game, hitting 50% of their field-goal attempts and going 15 of 33 from 3-point range. They earned a 32-11 advantage in bench points, led by 13 from Kamiah Smalls, who had scored 31 points in her 13 prior WNBA games dating back to 2020.

New York (2-1) will be without two mainstays again as it seeks a series split. With Sabrina Ionescu (foot) and Satou Sabally (cyst) on the shelf, it needs more from its bench. Just two of its reserves scored and the starters logged 160 of a possible 200 minutes.

All five starters scored in double figures for the Liberty, led by Pauline Astier with 24 points. But Astier was whistled for a critical 3-second violation with 13.8 seconds left, which teed up Barker for her game-winner.

First-year coach Chris DeMarco was forgiving of Astier for her mistake.

"I mean, there are a billion mistakes made in that game, so they're just one of those," he said. "I'm sure she wished she had it back, but we still saw a chance to get a stop and force overtime."

Defense figures to be a point of emphasis in the rematch. New York also will focus on valuing the basketball. It committed 18 turnovers on Tuesday night, which the Fire cashed in for 25 points.

--Field Level Media