SAN FRANCISCO — Two days before the start of the season, the Golden State Valkyries cut forward Laeticia Amihere. 

In a somewhat surprising move, the expansion team couldn’t find room on their roster for the athletic 6-foot-4 wing. 

But now, Amihere is back. And she’s making a push to be on this team for the rest of the year. 

Amihere came off the bench and scored 10 points and blocked four shots in the Valkyries’ 88-77 win over the Indiana Fever on Thursday night. She did the dirty work in the fourth quarter and showed she could be a versatile forward who could defend all five positions. 

Amihere’s arrival couldn’t have come at a better time. With the Valkyries without forwards Janelle Salaün and Cecilia Zandalasini and center Temi Fágbénlé because of EuroBasket commitments, Amihere brings a versatile skillset in the front court alongside Kayla Thornton and Monique Billings. 

“A lot of people would get down and be disappointed, but she hung with it,” Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. “She continued to work out and she stayed in shape. That’s hard. The best thing about L.A. you can draw up a play and boom, she’ll execute it. 

“She just plays with no fear and that’s what I love about her.”

The Valkyries looked poised to let the game slip away after the Fever went on a 10-0 run to take a 13-point lead midway through the third quarter. Golden State forward Kayla Thornton had drawn her fourth foul earlier in the period and the Valkyries were forced to call a timeout down double digits with 4:33 left in the third. 

Nakase inserted Amihere into the game and she made her presence felt right away. 

She scored a layup off a tipped offensive rebound to cut the Fever lead to single digits. Two possessions later, Amihere drove from the right wing and laid in a reverse layup off the glass that drew cheers from the sold out crowd at Chase Center. 

Her aggressiveness driving to the rim earned her four trips to the free-throw line, and while she only hit 4-of-8 free throws, the threat of her drive did just enough to force Indiana’s help-side defense to account for Amihere. 

Golden State Valkyries’ Laeticia Amihere (3) blocks a shot by Indiana Fever’s Lexie Hull (10) in the fourth quarter of their WNBA game at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, June 19, 2025. The Golden State Valkyries defeated the Indiana Fever 88-77. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) 

In the fourth quarter, Amihere swatted away two big shots on what looked like easy drives to the rim for Indiana. With just under a minute left and Golden State up eight, Amihere grabbed an offensive rebound, which led to an eventual basket from Veronica Burton on the same possession, to ice the game for the Valkyries. 

“She has that Kobe mentality face, like she never smiles throughout the game,” Nakase said. “I just love that killer instinct that she brings every single game.”

Amihere had a strong preseason that saw her score 25 points through two preseason games. But after she was cut, Amihere said coming back to the team was the ideal situation for her. 

“I knew it wasn’t my time at that time,” Amihere said. “Now that I’m coming in, it is my time. I came in and it was straight positivity. Everybody embraced me. Everybody allowed me to just jump right in.”

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To fill the void of four key rotation players leaving for EuroBasket, the Valkyries have signed four players to its active roster – including Amihere – and waived Kyra Linskens, who initially made the team after training camp cuts. This means Amihere along with new signees Kaitlyn Chen, Chloe Bibby, Bree Hall and Aerial Powers will be vying for one spot to stay on the roster for the rest of the year. 

Following Thursday’s strong performance, Amihere has given herself a chance to be with this team for the rest of the season. 

“I’m proud of her for stepping up and picking up where she left off,” Thornton said.