FILE — Portland Fire guard Sarah Ashlee Barker, shown in this May 9, 2026 file photo, helped fuel a 12-point run in the 4th quarter to send New York to its 3rd straight loss.
Amanda Loman / AP
Sarah Ashlee Barker scored all seven of her points in a fourth quarter run to lift the Portland Fire to an 81-74 win over the New York Liberty on Monday night.
Trailing 65-60, midway through the fourth quarter, Portland (4-3) scored 12 straight points with Barker leading the way to go up 72-65. She hit a layup and then a 3-pointer that made it 67-65 — Portland’s first lead since early in the third quarter.
New York, which was missing star guard Sabrina Ionescu, could only get within 74-71 on two free throws by Breanna Stewart with just over 29 seconds left.
Carla Leite answered with a 3-pointer with 13.7 seconds left to put the Fire up six. She finished with 18 points to lead the team. New York never could get within striking distance the rest of the way.
The loss was the third straight for New York (3-4), which was led by Stewart’s 25 points.
