PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Sarah Ashlee Barker and Bridget Carleton each scored 18 points, Sug Sutton scored a go-ahead basket with 22.6 seconds left, and the Portland Fire beat the Connecticut Sun 83-82 on Monday night.
Sutton drove into the lane and sank a floater for an 81-79 lead. Connecticut had two chances on its next possession before Carleton secured the rebound and was fouled. Carleton made two free throws with 9.7 left for a four-point lead.
Connecticut rookie Charlisse Leger-Walker made a 3-pointer with 1.9 left and Portland was called for an offensive foul to give the Sun another chance. But Aneesah Morrow's heave from halfcourt was short at the buzzer.
Sutton finished with 12 points and Emily Engstler added 15 for Portland (2-2). Nyadiew Puoch scored 10.
Brittney Griner led Connecticut (0-5) with 16 points, one shy of reaching 6,000 for her career. Morrow, Hailey Van Lith and Aaliyah Edwards each added 12 and Leger-Walker scored 10.
Connecticut led 42-38 at halftime after holding Portland to just 13 points in the second quarter. The Sun shot 58% from the field, while Portland went 3 of 13 from 3-point range.
Connecticut's Saniya Rivers went coast-to-coast at the end of the third for a jumper at the free-throw line, tying the game at 64.
The Sun finished 7 of 20 from 3-point distance, and 11 of 20 at the free-throw line.
Connecticut: Continues a five-game trip at Seattle on Wednesday.
Portland: At Indiana on Wednesday.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
CA Is Burning said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.