Portland Fire hero Sarah Ashlee Barker had 3 words for her game-winning shot over the Liberty originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Portland Fire took down the New York Liberty on Tuesday night in a game that no one in attendance at a raucous Moda Center is going to forget any time soon.
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Sarah Ashlee Barker‘s put-back as time expired delivered the expansion Fire their first win, 98-96, over the star-studded Liberty — whose two former WNBA MVPs, Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart, could not overcome the power of Fire friendship.
MORE: Portland Fire deliver storybook ending for first WNBA win in 24 years
That’s not to say Portland doesn’t have weapons of its own, though. Bridget Carleton, the top pick in the expansion draft, scored a game-high 26 points and sank five 3-pointers. Carla Leite added 21, while guard Kamiah Smalls — on her fourth team in four WNBA seasons — scored 13 in 14 minutes off the bench.
But Barker’s play recognition from a Carleton three that was going wide decided a tight, back-and-forth contest. She had three words to share with the media about the sequence that won the game for Portland: “crash and jam.”
“I just kind of saw (Calreton’s shot) going to the side,” Barker said. “So I knew (to) crash and jam. That’s what we call it, so that’s what I did. I saw it come off the backboard and I knew I had to get it up quick, so I just tossed it up there and it went in.”
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Barker’s hustle produced a moment of ingenuity will live long in the memory for Portland. For the Fire to surprise in 2026, this scrappy, high-upside team will have to be built on plays like that.
