NBA

New York Liberty at Portland Fire

· Women's National Basketball Association
New York Liberty
2-1, 1-1 Away
Final
98 - 96

Portland Fire
1-1, 1-1 Home

Sarah Ashlee Barker makes putback before buzzer and the Fire beat the Liberty 98-96 for 1st win

Portland Fire earn first win with buzzer-beater putback

After New York was called for a three-second violation with 13.8 seconds left, Carleton's 3-point attempt went hard off the backboard without hitting the rim. But Barker battled for the rebound and put it back before her teammates piled on top of her in celebration.

Carla Leite added 21 points and six assists for Portland (1-1). Luisa Geiselsoder and Kamiah Smalls each scored 13 points and Barker finished with five points in 22 minutes off the bench.

All five starters for New York (2-1) scored in double figures. Rookie Pauline Astier scored a season-high 24 points and Marine Johannes added 18. Jonquel Jones finished with 17 points, Breanna Stewart had 16 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks, and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton added 10 points

The teams combined for 28 made 3-pointers, with Carleton hitting one with just under three minutes left for a 94-91 lead. Then Johannes tied it at 94 with 1:54 left on an off-balance 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down.

New York was short-handed again. Sabrina Ionescu, who did not play due to a left foot injury, was seen before the game in an Oregon sweatshirt giving her former Duck coach Kelly Graves a hug.

Portland had another big crowd on hand after marking the second largest for a home opener in WNBA history with 19,335 on Saturday.

Up next New York stays in Portland to play the second game of a back-to-back on Thursday.

Regular Season Series

POR wins series 2-1

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 96 - 98
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 96 - 98
4th 0.0 (00:00) [Liberty] REF-INITIATED REVIEW (REPLAY SUPPORTS CALL) 96 - 98
4th 0.0 Sarah Ashlee Barker makes two point shot 96 - 98
4th 1.4 Sarah Ashlee Barker offensive rebound 96 - 96

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/wnba/500/ny.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNY https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/wnba/500/por.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originPOR
33-62 FG 34-68
53 Field Goal % 50
13-28 3PT 15-33
46 Three Point % 45
17-18 FT 15-15
94 Free Throw % 100
31 Rebounds 26
8 Offensive Rebounds 8
23 Defensive Rebounds 18
23 Assists 15
7 Steals 8
3 Blocks 4
18 Turnovers 13
0 Team Turnovers 1
18 Total Turnovers 14
1 Technical Fouls 0
1 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
25 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 19
10 Fast Break Points 7
32 Points in Paint 34
16 Fouls 21
13 Largest Lead 4
14 Lead Changes 14
77 Percent Led 12

Game Information

Venue: Moda Center

Location: Portland, OR
Attendance: 12,386 · Capacity:

2025-26 Eastern Conference Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Atlanta - 14 W5 0.6818182 30
Washington 2 16 W4 0.6363636 28
Indiana 2 16 L1 0.6363636 28
New York 4 18 L2 0.59090906 26
Chicago 14 28 L1 0.36363637 16
Toronto 19 33 L8 0.25 11
Connecticut 19 33 W1 0.25 11

2025-26 Western Conference Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Minnesota - 11 W1 0.75 33
Golden State 1 12 W1 0.72727275 32
Las Vegas 2 13 W7 0.70454544 31
Dallas 6 17 W1 0.6136364 27
Portland 16 27 W1 0.38636363 17
Los Angeles 17 28 L2 0.36363637 16
Phoenix 17 28 L1 0.36363637 16
Seattle 25 36 L5 0.18181819 8
Full Standings

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