Portland, Ore. ? Two of the WNBA’s best young players met on court for the first time Sunday. One excelled and the other flamed out.

Sue Bird, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, had 14 points, four rebounds, five assists and four steals as the Seattle Storm built an early lead and then held on for a 57-47 victory over the Portland Fire.

Jackie Stiles, last year’s WNBA rookie of the year, was held to a career-low one point. Sylvia Crawley led the Fire (0-3) with 16 points, but Portland lost its 13th straight regular-season game.

“This is exactly how we approached this game: So goes Jackie, so goes Portland,” Storm coach Lin Dunn said of the Kansas native and former Southwest Missouri State standout.

“I was pleased with the defensive job Sonja Henning did on Jackie Stiles.”

Henning held Stiles to 0-of-5 shooting and denied Stiles the ball, picking up four steals.

Simone Edwards had 13 points and six rebounds, and Semeka Randall added 11 points for the Storm (1-1), who again played without injured center Lauren Jackson (sprained right ankle).

“It was a real team effort,” Dunn said. “We got a lot of help from a lot of people.”

Seattle jumped out to an 18-2 lead 8:33 in. Portland had almost as many turnovers (7) as field-goal attempts (8) in that stretch and shot just 25 percent in the first half.

“We aren’t playing with a lot of confidence,” Stiles said. “Turnovers are killing us and our shots just aren’t going down. We need to be more mentally tough.”

Liberty 58, Sol 52

New York Crystal Robinson scored 16 points, and New York used a late run to win its home opener. Tamika Whitmore had 12 points, including four in the decisive 6-0 run for the Liberty (3-1). Sandy Brondello lead the Sol (0-3) with 17 points. Tamara Moore, the Sol’s leading scorer (11.5 points), got in early foul trouble and was scoreless.

Fever 78, Shock 65

Auburn Hills, Mich. Tamika Catchings scored 27 points and Nikki McCray added 21 as Indiana beat Detroit. Catchings was 12-of-12 from the free-throw line, two short of Lisa Leslie’s WNBA record, and the Fever were 29-of-31 overall.

Indiana (2-0) has beaten Detroit (0-3) five straight times.