How Valkyries' Laeticia Amihere went from barely playing to secret weapon in WNBA Finals

The Golden State Valkyries' Laeticia Amihere and Atlanta Dream's Angel Reese  position themselves for a rebound Saturday during Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center in San Francisco. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle) The Golden State Valkyries embody the strength in numbers motto.

dir="ltr">To get to the WNBA Finals - where they owned a 1-0 lead on the Atlanta Dream heading into Monday's game - head coach Natalie Nakase has pulled from every corner of her bench to deliver series victories.

dir="ltr">In Saturday's win, Nakase tapped Laeticia Amihere to help defend star center Angel Reese.

dir="ltr">Amihere had totaled only six minutes over the first two playoff series against the Dallas Wings and Las Vegas Aces.

dir="ltr">Not only did her length and rebounding skill play to the Valkyries' advantage against Reese and the Dream, her film savvy and first-hand knowledge of the Dream's roster made her a weapon Nakase had at her disposal in the lead up.

dir="ltr">Amihere played her first two seasons, 2023 and '24, with the Dream. The 25-year-old had intel to relay.

dir="ltr">"Just tendencies," Amihere said. "I played with a bunch of the players and know their tendencies. Just trying to help (the team) out where I see fit. But it's not only this game, it's any game. I think I'm a person that watches a lot of film and has the advantage of being able to see what I see."

dir="ltr">Before Game 1, Nakase said she relied on Amihere just as much as veterans who've been on the playoff stage plenty, such as Kiah Stokes and Tiffany Hayes.

dir="ltr">"L.A. spoke up a lot because of her previous experience with Atlanta," Nakase said. "That's just a different insight that we really take in. She's talking about (know your personnel) and things they're really good at and how we can take it away."

dir="ltr">When Reese started to find her groove scoring in the paint in the second quarter, Nakase went to Amihere to stop the bleeding. She played 14 minutes off the bench and, with Stokes, held Reese to 0-for-2 shooting in the second half with the Dream going a collective 2-for-19 as the Valkyries mounted a comeback and four-point win.

dir="ltr">"I think more importantly it's just her ability to stay ready," point guard Veronica Burton said of Amihere. "I think this is a great matchup for her and just being ready and I think obviously you know she didn't get as many minutes in the first two rounds, but her ability to just stay focused and do whatever is asked of her was huge, and so she's been incredible. I'm a big fan of L.A. and I think she adds so much to our team."

dir="ltr">Amihere was a plus-9 in 14 minutes, collecting five of the Valkyries' 57 rebounds. She also had a block, a steal and went 2-for-2 from the field.

dir="ltr">"I thought L.A. did a fantastic job with that matchup," Nakase said after the game. "L.A. had great energy. Again, she was kind of our insight with this game plan. And you could tell there was a lot of confidence in her matchup. She's going to say it's team defense, so it was everyone being on the same string, just calling her number or whether she was getting back in transition, I thought L.A. did a phenomenal job and then at protecting the rim she was key for us in our success."

dir="ltr">Added Amihere: "I'd like to say I'm a genius - no, not genius. I just think by watching film, you see people tend to do what's comfortable for them and what they've done all season. I do say that we're successful in that way, obviously they're going to come up with different ways to combat that, and we'll be ready as well."

SubscribeThere’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at How Valkyries' Laeticia Amihere went from barely playing to secret weapon in WNBA Finals.