Valkyries announce their final roster. Here's who made the cut, and who didn't
The Golden State Valkyries have a final roster.
The expansion club named their 12 players on Wednesday before their regular-season opener on Friday against the Los Angeles Sparks. The cuts included forward Laeticia Amihere and third-round pick Kaitlyn Chen.
Kyara Linskens, a Belgian center, earned the last roster spot after working in the second unit during two preseason games. French forward Janelle Salaün was also named to the roster despite not coming to the first two weeks of training camp while winning a championship with her Italian team.
Amihere scored 20 points in the Valkyries' first preseason game against the Sparks and the final roster spot likely came down to her or Linskens. The 6-foot-5 Linskens nabbed eight rebounds in that game and showed chemistry with the second unit off the bench, especially rookie point guard Carla Leite.
Below is the final roster:
Carla Leite, point guard
Kayla Thornton, forward
Stephanie Talbot, forward
Janelle Salaün, forward
Temi Fagbenle, center
Tiffany Hayes, shooting guard
Kate Martin, shooting guard
Veronica Burton, point guard
Cecilia Zandalasini, forward
Monique Billings, forward
Kyara Linskens, center
Julie Vanloo, point guard
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