28-9 after nine minutes
That was the scoreboard in Portland on Sunday before either team had settled. The Golden State Valkyries came out of the tunnel with something to prove and had the game more or less finished by the first media timeout.
Tiffany Hayes was in the starting five, which has not been a regular occurrence lately. She put up 14 points in the opening quarter, six of seven from the floor with a pair of threes. On her own, she outscored the entire Fire roster over those 10 minutes. She closed with 18, the game high.
Kayla Thornton chipped in 17. Kaitlyn Chen came off the bench for 15, twelve of them before halftime. Golden State went into the locker room up 47-25 and won it 86-69.
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Three starters gone to the World Cup, and it barely registered
Gabby Williams, Cecilia Zandalasini and Janelle Salaun had already left camp for national team duty ahead of the World Cup in Germany. Losing three players of that calibre usually shows up somewhere on the floor. It did not.
Kaila Charles filled the gap with 11 points, eight boards and five assists. Veronica Burton ran the offence for six assists, 11 points and two steals. The lead stretched to 26 at its peak and Portland never once made it interesting.
The Fire beat themselves from outside. Three of 22 from deep in the first 20 minutes tells the whole story. Emily Engstler and Megan DiLeo scraped together 12 apiece. Bridget Carleton, invisible for a half, finished on 11.
Two games behind Minnesota, four games left
The win closed out a five-game road trip and made it four straight for Golden State, who reach the break at 29-11. The Minnesota Lynx are still two clear at the top of the league.
Now the WNBA goes dark for 18 days. Golden State return on 18 September, at home, against this same Fire team. Four games will be left before the playoffs. Portland, 16-24, restart a day earlier against the Phoenix Mercury.
Two wins to claw back in four games is doable on paper. Whether the internationals come home from Germany with anything left in their legs is the part nobody can plan for.
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