The Golden State Valkyries beat the Portland Fire, 82–66

Game story

The Golden State Valkyries beat the Portland Fire 82–66 on Friday, September 18. Laeticia Amihere led the Valkyries with 17 points; Frieda Buhner had 14 for the Fire.

Game Highlights

Portland Fire vs. Golden State Valkyries | FULL GAME HIGHLIGHTS | September 18, 2026

Fire66FinalValkyries82 Play highlights

Official video · WNBA on YouTube · plays in YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode when you press play · Watch on YouTube ↗

Who stood out

Laeticia Amihere (Valkyries): 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting (2-of-4 from three), 3-of-5 at the line in 22 minutes, a +16 in her minutes. She came in averaging 3.4 points over 35 games of the 2026 regular season.

Kaitlyn Chen (Valkyries): 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting (5-of-8 from three) in 25 minutes, a +20 in her minutes.

Frieda Buhner (Fire): 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting (2-of-5 from three) in 23 minutes, a -3 in her minutes.

How it happened

It did not start that way: the Fire led 20–19 after one quarter and by as many as 2. The second quarter was the swing — the Valkyries won it 21–10 — and they led 40–30 at halftime. The game had six lead changes; the Valkyries’ largest lead was 26.

The Valkyries’ bench outscored the Fire’s, 43–29.

The Valkyries made 29-69 from the field (42%) and 13-37 from three; the Fire 22-61 (36%). Turnovers ran 14–22, and points off turnovers 10–17 in the Fire’s favor — the margin came from shooting, not possession control. Rebounds went 34–38, points in the paint 30–24.

What it means

A reason to be cautious about carrying this game forward: the Valkyries gave up more points off turnovers than they scored, 17–10. One game is still one game.

After the result the Valkyries were 30-11 and the Fire 16-26 (team schedules through September 18). The Valkyries’ 82 was 0.6 below the 82.6 a game they averaged entering it.

Next up: GS at DAL on Sep 30, where the market consensus has the Valkyries favored by 4.5 with a total of 155.5 (PropBetEdge capture, Sep 29, 11 books) — and the Wings allow 85.3 a game, 11th-most of 15. Player props enter the board inside 36 hours of tip.