Portland Fire deliver storybook ending for first WNBA win in 24 years
What a game late Tuesday night.
Portland Fire deliver storybook ending for first WNBA win in 24 years originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Portland Fire could not have scripted a more perfect ending for their long-awaited return to the WNBA.
After 24 years without a victory, Portland finally delivered one of the league’s most emotional moments Tuesday night when Sarah Ashlee Barker scored a buzzer-beating putback to stun the New York Liberty 98-96 at a sold-out Moda Center. The building erupted instantly. Players sprinted onto the floor.
Fans jumped to their feet. And for the first time since the franchise officially returned to the WNBA this season, the Fire finally had a signature moment to call their own. With the score tied in the closing seconds, Bridget Carleton launched a difficult three-pointer over Breanna Stewart.
The shot missed badly off the side of the backboard, but Barker crashed the lane at exactly the right time, grabbed the rebound and flipped the ball in before the buzzer sounded. It was messy. It was chaotic.