{"id":1613,"date":"2026-06-09T09:36:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T09:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1613"},"modified":"2026-06-09T09:36:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T09:36:46","slug":"its-my-job-laeticia-amihere-stays-ready-after-vanishing-from-valkyries-rotation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1613","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It\u2019s my job\u2019: Laeticia Amihere stays ready after vanishing from Valkyries\u2019 rotation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 Through the Valkyries\u2019 first eight games, <\/span>Laeticia Amihere <\/span>was a fixture in the rotation, averaging nearly 15 minutes a night.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Harriette Cole: She\u2019s a good friend but a bad partyer. Is it OK to ditch her?<\/a><\/p>\n

In the three games since, she has played just one.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The fourth-year forward was a healthy scratch in back-to-back losses to <\/span>Minnesota<\/span> and <\/span>Las Vegas<\/span>, and played just over a minute in garbage time in the Valkyries\u2019 blowout win last Tuesday over the Portland <\/span>Fire<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After Monday\u2019s practice, Amihere said she is focused on staying ready, though she offered little insight into why her role evaporated so quickly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a professional,\u201d Amihere told Bay Area News Group. \u201cWhatever you have to do to keep yourself focused on the next game and practices, that\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Following Saturday\u2019s loss to the Aces, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase kept things short when asked why Amihere hasn\u2019t played in the last few games.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s matchup related,\u201d Nakase said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amihere\u2019s spot on the roster was never guaranteed during training camp. But following the announcement of Iliana Rupert\u2019s pregnancy a day before the season started, the Valkyries needed Amihere\u2019s size and athleticism on a roster that had just one center on the depth chart.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Through the first eight games, Amihere platooned the center position with veteran Kiah Stokes. Golden State hardly ever went without at least one of the two on the floor, and used Amihere in lineups where it wanted to push the pace.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Out of the 10 lineups that have played the most minutes, Amihere is a part of three of those combinations. The Valkyries\u2019 second-best lineup this season includes Amihere, Janelle Sala\u00fcn, Kaila Charles, Veronica Burton, and Gabby Williams, with a point differential of +49.5, per basketball reference.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her minutes started to dwindle with the Valkyries\u2019 first matchup with Las Vegas on May 31. In seven minutes, she scored two points, grabbed four rebounds, and was 0-for-5 from the field.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Miss Manners: They didn\u2019t comment on my body, and I\u2019m offended<\/a><\/p>\n

In recent games, Nakase has opted to go small in critical moments with forwards like Kayla Thornton, Charles, and Sala\u00fcn playing the two frontcourt positions. Stokes, who has struggled on offense, starts games but has not been on the court much in the closing minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

In their last two losses, the Valkyries have struggled against athletic players like Las Vegas\u2019 A\u2019ja Wilson and Minnesota\u2019s Natasha Howard, which makes Amihere\u2019s lack of playing time perplexing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked if she was told beforehand if she wasn\u2019t going to play, Amihere said, \u201cI don\u2019t really have an answer. I think it\u2019s something you would have to ask Natalie.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nakase has spoken broadly about the challenge of making sure players are fully versed in what the coaching staff wants from them before putting them on the floor. On Monday, when asked about rookie Just\u0117 Jocyt\u0117 being a healthy scratch against Las Vegas, Nakase said the responsibility starts with her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s still learning what exactly we want. It has to be more, \u2018Are we really clear with the game plan, and how are they digesting?\u2019\u201d Nakase said. \u201dBecause today we had a lot of discussions on this. It starts with me first, and making sure they know it. I don\u2019t ever want to throw a player in there if they don\u2019t know exactly what we\u2019re looking for because then I\u2019m not setting them up for success.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The frontcourt situation grew more crowded on Sunday when the Valkyries signed former Stanford center <\/span>Nadia Fingall<\/span> to a rest-of-season contract after waiving Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda in a corresponding move. Fingall, who stands at\u00a0 6-foot-4, is a stretch center who adds much-needed size.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For now, Amihere said she isn\u2019t dwelling on uncertainty. Following practice on Monday, Amihere participated in a scrimmage against the team\u2019s practice players that included Jocyt\u0117, Kaitlyn Chen, Miela Sowah, and Ashten Prechtel.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my job,\u201d Amihere said. \u201cI\u2019m going to stay sharp and do what I need to do to be successful.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Dear Abby: I made a mistake with this man I met on the dating site<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amihere has played just one minute in the last three games after averaging nearly 15 to open the season<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1612,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018It\u2019s my job\u2019: Laeticia Amihere stays ready after vanishing from Valkyries\u2019 rotation - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=1613\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018It\u2019s my job\u2019: Laeticia Amihere stays ready after vanishing from Valkyries\u2019 rotation - 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