Portland Fire (16-25, 6-14 Western Conference) at Golden State Valkyries (29-11, 12-7 Western Conference)
San Francisco; Friday, 10 p.m. EDT
LINE: Valkyries -12.5; over/under is 160.5
BOTTOM LINE: Golden State Valkyries will try to earn its 30th win of the season when the Valkyries host the Portland Fire.
The Valkyries have gone 12-7 against Western Conference opponents. Golden State is the best team in the Western Conference in team defense, allowing 75.4 points while holding opponents to 41.8% shooting.
The Fire are 6-14 against Western Conference opponents. Portland is 5-4 in one-possession games.
Golden State averages 82.6 points per game, 8.5 fewer points than the 91.1 Portland allows. Portland has shot at a 45.2% clip from the field this season, 3.4 percentage points higher than the 41.8% shooting opponents of Golden State have averaged.
The two teams play for the third time this season. The Valkyries defeated the Fire 86-69 in their last matchup on Aug. 30. Tiffany Hayes led the Valkyries with 18 points, and Emily Engstler led the Fire with 12 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Veronica Burton is averaging 12.3 points, 5.8 assists and 1.5 steals for the Valkyries. Hayes is averaging 12.6 points over the last 10 games.
Engstler is scoring 10.3 points per game and averaging 5.6 rebounds for the Fire. Bridget Carleton is averaging 2.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Valkyries: 8-2, averaging 81.7 points, 34.8 rebounds, 20.8 assists, 8.0 steals and 3.3 blocks per game while shooting 43.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 70.4 points per game.
Fire: 4-6, averaging 87.1 points, 31.8 rebounds, 20.1 assists, 7.9 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 45.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 89.1 points.
INJURIES: Valkyries: Gabby Williams: out (reconditioning), Cecilia Zandalasini: day to day (reconditioning), Iliana Rupert: out for season (pregnancy), Janelle Salaun: out (reconditioning).
Fire: Teja Oblak: out (knee), Carla Leite: out (rest), Bridget Carleton: out (ankle), Sarah Ashlee Barker: out for season (knee), Megan DiLeo: out (finger), Sania Feagin: out for season (knee).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
