For the first time since 2002, a team named the Portland Fire is back in the WNBA column after a thrilling triumph over the New York Liberty.
The coda came after midnight on the East Coast, but the Portland Fire successfully penned the first Cinderella story of the 2026 WNBA season.
Sarah Ashlee Barker's two-point putback as time expired put the rebooted Fire in the win column for the first time in its brief existence. That allowed Portland to post a 98-96 victory over the New York Liberty at Moda Center on Tuesday night, becoming the newest team to enter the league's victorious ledgers.
"Honestly, it was like a surreal moment, it was just kind of like a thank you," said Barker, who put up just five points, albeit the most important pair of all. "It was a rough game, I'll be honest. I wish I would've played better. But, at the end of the day, you do the little things, you try to make up for things. As long as you're playing hard, you're rewarded at the end, and that's what I try to do."
WNBA’s newest expansion team Portland Fire just beat the Liberty at the buzzer. You can’t make this up. pic.twitter.com/N3Ct2QnMQA
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) May 13, 2026
Portland Proves Scrappy and Savvy So Far
Critics claimed that Portland perhaps got the short end of the stick in the expansion draft that also featured the Toronto Tempo. While there's a long way to go in the debut season, the results have proven quite admirable in the early going.
Portland kept pace with the Chicago Sky in its Saturday tip-off before eventually falling by a 98-83 final. It held its own and then some against the contending Liberty, overcoming several sizable deficits to pull off the win. The early stanzas have been defined by a balanced mix of finesse and physicality, traits that rose to the occasion at the perfect times on Tuesday night.
"We never gave up. I think that was the fun part," de facto franchise face Bridget Carleton said of the Fire's early identity. "We're a team. Both preseason games, and then both regular season games, we just don't give up. We're going to be annoying and there for 40 minutes. It's going to be hard to play against us."
"It's not about me, it's about the team at the end of the day," added Barker. "Yeah, I was the one who shot the shot. But you saw it at the end of the game when they all came in and got on top of me, the togetherness, the passion, the love, the grit. We're never going to give up, like Bridget says. It's very special and something I'll always remember. But I think the thing that I'll remember the most is how much we have each other's backs in this moment."
Head coach Alex Sarama called the fact that the franchise won its first game through an offensive rebound putback and Barker's breakout beyond her normal defensive identity as "Portland Fire 101."
"We want teams to come here and not look forward to playing us on the schedule because no team in the league is going to play harder than us," Sarama said. "That's what the game plan is every single game for the rest of the season.
"It means the world, truly, to [win] here. This is a special place, and I've realized that already. I'm so excited to see what we're going to build with the pieces we have ... I really, truly believe that we're going to build something special in the long-term here and I can't wait to see it through."
Carla Leite Shines Despite Injury Scare
Every run of seafoam was seemingly silenced by a response from deep, as Carleton and reserve Kamiah Smalls united for nine 3-pointers. Smalls, on her fourth team and 14th game since entering the league in 2020, also tied her career-best with 13 points.
The output from Carleton helped her set a new career-best in scoring and showcased her trademark defense to the tune of four steals. Emily Engstler engaged in further dirty work to the tune of three blocks and two steals on a night of 18 takeaways that produced 25 extra points, including Barker's final pair.
Carla Leite v Liberty
— Shabazz 💫 (@ShowCaseShabazz) May 13, 2026
21 Points
4 Rebounds
6 Assist
1 Steal
8/14 FG
5/5 FT pic.twitter.com/mjPoeLtcUE
By far the best was Carla Leite, off on her second-straight tour with an expansion squad after spending last year with the Golden State Valkyries. The 22-year-old forced her onto the scoresheet with 12 visits to the foul line on Saturday (hitting all but one of the subsequent singles) before emerging as an unexpected heroine on Tuesday.
Leite's night seemed over when she crumbled to the floor due to an apparent lower-body injury endured during late third-quarter action. She returned midway through the final frame and scored six points inside. Two at the foul line and a penetrating finger roll helped Portland keep the game tied before Barker obtained a would-be winner from Carleton's deep hands.
Sarah Ashlee Barker Reflects on Journey to Rose City
Barker got space on three New Yorkers to secure the fateful rebound and instantaneously flung up the winner. With the shot falling through the net with plenty of time to spare, the city of Portland celebrated its first WNBA victory since 2002, the final season of the original Fire team that hosted Tully Bevilaqua, Vanessa Nygaard, and Jackie Stiles.
"it was a surreal feeling"
— Portland Fire (@theportlandfire) May 13, 2026
Head Coach Alex Sarama on the moment the ball went in the air and Sarah Ashlee Barker sealed the game. pic.twitter.com/R1UBfe6YOa
Any emotion that Barker displayed on the floor, as Leite quickly jumped on her fallen form following the shot, hardly compared to what was bottled inside. The former Los Angeles Spark spoke of a "rough 24 hours" due to an unnamed personal issue and found the perfect way to reimburse the Fire for their faith and support.
"The support my teammates, my coaches, this organization has given me the past 24 hours, I don't want to be anywhere else. I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be. That's all God's strength," Barker said. "That's what got me through this game, that's what's going to continue to get me through the next couple of months. This organization is something special. My teammates are something special, and you saw that tonight."
"I feel like she's a workhorse, day in and day out," fellow reserve Smalls said of Barker after the former made her Portland debut on Tuesday. "I'm happy she gets to live through this moment. She deserves it."
Liberty Falls Despite French Frenzy
Burned on a historic Tuesday night was the Liberty, which continues to work without Pacific Northwest legends Sabrina Ionescu and Satou Sabally.
New York's offense has stepped up admirably in the wake of early absences, but discombobulation reigns on the defensive end, which is also missing the lengthy antics of Rebecca Allen and Leonie Fiebich.
The turnovers have been particularly costly as the unit tries to press forward in a new era: despite scintillating scoring, New York (2-1) has endured a turnover on over 20 percent of its possessions, worst among teams that have played at least two games.
Marine Johannès is RIDICULOUS 😭 pic.twitter.com/2sfE0OgOzO
— Women’s Hoops Network (@WomensHoops_USA) May 13, 2026
Liberty reps were primarily concerned about their defensive lapses in the aftermath: they led by nine at the onset of the third quarter but lost that lead in less than three minutes. That comes two days after the Liberty led by as much as a dozen during the third quarter of a holiday haunt in Washington. That lead was whittled to three by the end of the period, and the Liberty eventually needed overtime to escape the capital with a win.
"I think that when we have the lead, [we have to know] that the other team is going to come out and try to punch first," said Breanna Stewart, who had a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double in defeat, albeit on 4-of-12 shooting while hounded by Engstler. "That's on me, and I'll get the rest of the group really ready to go, because we've struggled with this in the past, and we don't want to have that continue.
"I think basically we need to be better when we're playing second and third action," Stewart said of the Liberty pace. "That's kind of why it gets stagnant. But, also, the team is trying to get the ball in the right people's hands, and this team in particular is throwing traps, throwing double teams. So I think we need to just keep our composure going forward."
Pauline Astier Shines Despite Late Mistakes
Stealing the headlines for New York has been the French dispatch of Marine Johannés and WNBA rookie Pauline Astier, who united for 42 points in Tuesday's loss. Johannes has flourished in an extended opportunity in DeMarco's new system, putting up 60 total points over the first trio.
Astier is the latest New York international project to break out: entering Wednesday, she's second in rookie scoring behind only second overall choice Olivia Miles and second in field goal percentage among freshmen women with a minimum of five attempts per game, next to fellow international emergence Emma Cechova.
But the offensive growing pains surfaced at the worst time on Tuesday: New York had a chance to hold on for the final shot, or at least something close to it, but instead faced its final turnover when Astier was called for a three-second violation.
"There were a billion mistakes made in that game, so it was just one of those. I'm sure [Astier] wished she had it back, but, you know, we still had a chance to get a stop and force overtime," DeMarco said. "We'll be all right. It's the beginning of the season, there are new rosters for a lot of these teams, we're going through some stuff ourselves. We'll make the adjustments and make sure we're protecting the three-point line a little bit better and securing the ball. You turn the ball over a lot, it hurts our defense. A lot of this communication is just being in the right spot. So yeah, we'll keep at it."
Those thrilled by the Liberty and Fire's maiden voyage won't have to wait long for the sequel, as the two sides are set to do battle again on Thursday night at Moda Center.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
