Portland Fire guard Sarah Ashlee Barker’s breakout season has been cut short.
The Fire announced on Friday, July 24 that an MRI determined Barker tore her ACL. The injury ends her career-best year and she’s now set to undergo surgery on her left knee.
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Barker suffered the injury in the Fire’s 101-97 loss to the Dallas Wings on Wednesday, July 22 in the team’s final game ahead of the 2026 WNBA All-Star Weekend. With 6:08 remaining in the first quarter, Barker crumpled to the court clutching her left knee after lunging to save the ball from going out of bounds. Barker was eventually helped to her feet and assisted to the locker room by team personnel, although she couldn’t put weight on her leg.
The injury news marks a devastating blow to the Fire’s inaugural season. Portland coach Alex Sarama called Barker the “heart and soul” of the team after their loss on Wednesday and said her absence was felt defensively.
“(Barker) is one of the better point of attack defenders in the league, and that’s how we’ve been using her,” Sarama said. “And it really hurts our defense.”
Barker was drafted ninth overall out of Alabama by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2025, but she found a new home and expanded role in Portland after being selected in the expansion draft. Barker upped her per game averages from 3.1 points in 14.1 minutes in 2025 to 10.7 points in 24.7 minutes this season.
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She’s also set career highs in rebounds (4.5) and assists (2.4) per game, plus field-goal percentage (50.2%) and 3-point percentage (40.0%). Her 4.5 rebounds per game ranks second on the team.
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“We all come in and work really hard and we all have a lot of respect for each other,” Barker said on July 20. “But because we do have vets like (Bridget Carleton) and (Megan DiLeo), they do such a good job of showing us the way and showing us how we do it every single day. And they set the standard and just the values of who we want to be every single day. So having those type of vets, that’s why these younger players are able to play the way we are. We’re able to just have fun the way we are with them.”
The Fire (11-16) are currently in ninth place in the WNBA standings, just outside of playoff contention.
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Reach USA TODAY National Women’s Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at chenderson@gannett.com and follow her on X at @CydHenderson.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sarah Ashlee Barker injury update: Portland Fire guard tears ACL
