Tiffany Hayes scores 18, Kayla Thornton 17 for Valkyries in 86-69 win over Fire
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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Tiffany Hayes scored 18 points, Kayla Thornton added 17 and the Golden State Valkyries beat the Portland Fire 86-69 on Sunday in their final game before the FIBA World Cup break.
The Valkyries (29-11) pulled within two games of WNBA-leading Minnesota. Golden State has four games remaining and its opponents (Portland twice, Seattle and Los Angeles) have a winning percentage of .325 (39-81).
The Lynx, who won the season series 2-1 and hold the playoff tiebreaker, play New York and Connecticut before back-to-back games against Indiana and Caitlin Clark — those teams are a combined 60-59 (.504) — to close the season.
Kaitlyn Chen had 15 points for Golden State. Veronica Burton and Kaila Charles each scored 11.
Chen hit a 3-pointer that capped a 13-0 run and gave Golden State a 15-4 lead a little more than five minutes into the game, and the Valkyries led by as many as 19 points in the first quarter.
Jordan Harrison hit a 3-pointer that capped a 12-3 run and trimmed the Fire’s deficit to 30-21 with six minutes to go in the first half. Kayla Thornton answered 14 seconds later with a short jumper that sparked a string of 15 consecutive Valkyries points as Portland went scoreless for the next five-plus minutes.
Emily Engstler and Megan DiLeo scored 12 points apiece for the Fire (16-24) and Bridget Carleton added 11.
All-Star Gabby Williams, Janelle Salaün and Cecelia Zandalasini did not play for the Valkyries, while Portland’s Carla Leite — who leads the team in scoring (15.9 per game) and assists (6.3) — and Frieda Buhner missed the game in preparation for the World Cup.
The Fire won at Atlanta, 101-83, on Friday to snap a three-game skid.
Up next
The teams play Sept. 18 at Golden State.
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See AP’s full WNBA coverage here