PORTLAND – The final few games of the Valkyries’ regular season have been against teams that won’t be playing in the WNBA playoffs. On Tuesday night, the expansion Fire gave Golden State all it could handle and cost the Valkyries their last chance at the No. 1 playoff seed.
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In the final game of their inaugural season, the Fire stormed back from Golden State’s 17-0 start to the game to hand the Valkyries a 90-82 overtime loss. It was Golden State’s first loss since August 21 and snapped a six-game winning streak.
League-leading Minnesota (32-11) lost at Indiana earlier Tuesday and a Valkyries win would have given them a chance to play for the No. 1 overall seed on Thursday in their regular-season finale at Los Angeles. Instead, Golden State (31-12) will have to win or hope Las Vegas loses to Phoenix to keep the second spot in the standings.
A Carla Leite and-1 floater with 37.8 left on the clock gave the Fire a two-point lead for the first time in the fourth quarter, 77-75. Gabby Williams tied it on a charging layup with 29.5 to play and the Valkyries got a stop to get the final shot with 8.3 seconds left, which Williams missed to force overtime at 77 points apiece.
Golden State, playing in its first overtime game since the Valkyries defeated Los Angeles on June 9, 2025, had a chance to go ahead with under a minute left in overtime on a missed Kaila Charles 3-pointer, but then a Leite jump shot turned into a three-point play on a Charles foul that sealed it.
It was the first game back for the Valkyries’ European World Cup players, Williams, Janelle Salaun and Cecilia Zandalasini, who sat out Golden State’s back-to-back against Portland and Seattle at home over the weekend.
The Fire (17-27) were coming off four consecutive losses, including an 82-66 loss to the Valkyries.
Golden State jumped out to a 17-0 run in the first 6:40 behind treys from Thornton, Burton and Zandalasini. Portland didn’t score until a Bridget Carleton 3-pointer with 3:20 left in the first. Golden State led 24-10 at the end of the first frame.
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Portland, though, got going in the second quarter, going on a 17-5 run to cut their deficit to one while the second unit was predominantly on the floor. The Valkyries were outscored 27-16 in the second quarter to go to the half up 40-37 thanks to a last-second 3-pointer from Burton.
The Valkyries settled down in the third quarter. Williams nabbed back-to-back turnaround mid-range jumpers to give the Valkyries some breathing room before Tiffany Hayes hit three free throws to send Golden State to the fourth up 61-58.
Portland took a 64-63 fourth quarter lead on a jumper from Frieda Buhner early in the fourth as a part of a 10-4 run to begin the frame. Golden State stole momentum after a Williams steal led to a Charles fastbreak bucket then Hayes hit a 3-pointer with 2:07 to go.
A Leite steal and Hayes turnover allowed Portland to get back within one point just one minute later.
After shooting 56.3% in the first to take their massive lead, the Valkyries shot under 33% the rest of the way. Williams shot 6-for-18 in her return to WNBA action. Golden State’s 14 turnovers were the most since August 12 against Chicago.
Fire forward Bridget Carleton scored 25 points on 21 shots to lead the Fire’s comeback.
Thornton got into foul trouble and had four against her midway through the third quarter, forcing the Valkyries to go to an even smaller lineup until Thornton re-entered the game four minutes into the fourth, where she quickly picked up an offensive foul. They opted to play most of the second half with Williams on the floor alongside Charles to make up the frontcourt.
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