Latest news with #CeciliaZandalasini
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Golden State Valkyries Make Unexpected Roster Move on Monday
Golden State Valkyries Make Unexpected Roster Move on Monday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. In a roster shake‑up that surprised many WNBA fans, the Golden State Valkyries announced on Monday that veteran guard Julie Vanloo has been waived. Advertisement The news comes just one day after Vanloo secured a gold medal with Belgium at EuroBasket Women 2025. Vanloo arrived in San Francisco last fall as part of the expansion draft and quickly became known for her playmaking and leadership. In nine appearances (including two starts), she averaged 4.6 points, 4.1 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 20 minutes per game. Unfortunately, the Valkyries chose to bring back forwards Janelle Salaun and Cecilia Zandalasini, who were also away participating in the FIBA EuroBasket tournament. Now, the 32-year-old point guard is back on the market. Prior to joining the Valkyries via the WNBA's expansion draft in December 2024, Vanloo had spent a season with the Washington Mystics and more than a decade playing overseas. Advertisement Last season with the Mystics, she averaged 7.4 points, 4.3 assists and 1.6 rebounds across 40 games (34 starts). The Golden State Valkyries waived guard Julie Vanloo (35).Kyle Terada-Imagn Images On Sunday, Vanloo helped Belgium clinch its second consecutive EuroBasket Women title with a dramatic 67-65 win over Spain. There, she was named to the tournament's all‑second team for her steady guard work behind stars Julie Allemand and TISSOT MVP Emma Meesseman. In addition to Vanloo's departure, the Valkyries also cut ties with Chloe Bibby, Bree Hall and Aerial Powers. As the Valkyries prepare to take on the top-ranked Minnesota Lynx on Saturday, all eyes will be on how the revamped roster gels moving forward. Advertisement Related: Stephanie White Breaks Silence After Missing Chicago Sky Game Related: Ranking the 25 Best WNBA Players of All Time This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Valkyries sign former NCAA champion amid multiple roster moves
The post Valkyries sign former NCAA champion amid multiple roster moves appeared first on ClutchPoints. With the upcoming Eurobasket, a few WNBA teams are going to be losing key players as they head overseas to compete with their national teams. The Golden State Valkyries are one of those teams, and the organization made a few roster moves this weekend related to Eurobasket departures. One of the Valkyries' roster moves this weekend involved the signing of Laeticia Amihere, the team announced on Sunday. Advertisement With the signing of Laeticia Amihere, the Valkyries bolster their roster with a player they're already familiar with. Amihere was acquired by the team off of waivers when she was cut by the Atlanta Dream during the offseason. She participated in training camp and preseason with the team, and fans thought she might have solidified a spot on the Valkyries' final roster following a breakout performance against the Los Angeles Sparks. But Amihere was one of the team's final roster cuts before the start of the regular season. With the team set to lose players to Eurobasket, the Valkyries opened up a roster spot by cutting rookie center Kyara Linskens. The team also announced they had temporarily suspended Cecilia Zandalasini's contract. Zandalasini will participate in Eurobasket with the Italian national team. Amihere was the No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft by the Dream and played two seasons for the team. Last year, she appeared in 16 games for the Dream at a little over five minutes per game. She averaged 1.2 points and 1.7 rebounds. Before the WNBA, Amihere was a member of the South Carolina Gamecocks' 2022 national championship team. In addition to Zandalasini, the Valkyries are expected to lose Temi Fagbenle, Julie Vanloo and Janelle Salaun to Eurobasket. Fagbenle will play with Great Britain, Vanloo for Belgium and Salaun for France. Advertisement The Valkyries have been a tough team this season despite their overall record of 3-5. They're coming off their best win of the season, a 95-68 takedown of the Las Vegas Aces. Related: Valkyries' Natalie Nakase reflects on Becky Hammon reunion after upsetting Aces Related: Valkyries set WNBA double-double record in blowout Aces win
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Golden State Valkyries Make Roster Decision on WNBA Champion
Golden State Valkyries Make Roster Decision on WNBA Champion originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Golden State Valkyries snapped a four-game skid with a dominant 95-68 win over the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday, bolstered by Kayla Thornton's double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds, Cecilia Zandalasini's 18 points and Veronica Burton's 12 assists. Advertisement That victory improved the Valkyries to a 3-5 record in their inaugural 2025 campaign. On Sunday, the Valkyries announced the temporary suspension of forward Zandalasini's contract to allow her to represent Italy at FIBA EuroBasket 2025, which runs from June 18-29 across venues in the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Greece. The competition will determine continental supremacy and serve as a qualifier for the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup, with Italy's squad relying heavily on Zandalasini's WNBA experience. Zandalasini enters her first season with Golden State after being selected from the Minnesota Lynx roster in the December 2024 expansion draft. Advertisement In her four appearances (two starts) this year, she's averaged 10.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 23.0 minutes per game. A decorated international talent, Zandalasini was a WNBA champion with the Minnesota Lynx in 2017, WNBA Commissioner's Cup champion (2024) and MVP of the 2016 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. She has also won multiple Turkish league and cup titles with Fenerbahçe (2019, 2020, 2021) and an Italian Supercup crown (2023). Golden State Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes (15) speaks to Yamashita-Imagn Images Zandalasini's departure will leave a 10-point-per-game scoring void at the small-forward spot and test Golden State's young depth. Management has signaled that Zandalasini will rejoin the roster immediately after Italy's EuroBasket run, but with eight games between now and the end of the month, she leaves a significant hole to fill. Advertisement Related: Chicago Sky Coach Sends Message After Angel Reese Decision Related: Indiana Fever Star Gets Technical Foul Against Mystics This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 8, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How Valkyries must survive after EuroBasket absences
The post How Valkyries must survive after EuroBasket absences appeared first on ClutchPoints. The 2025 FIBA EuroBasket tournament quickly approaching means question marks for the Golden State Valkyries, the newest addition to the WNBA. Advertisement Starters Janelle Salaün (France) and Temi Fagbenle (Great Britain) headline the international players likely headed for EuroBasket, as well as key role players Julie Vanloo (Belgium) and Cecilia Zandalasini (Italy). While only Salaün and Vanloo have officially made statements regarding their intention to play for their national teams, Fagbenle is listed as the team captain for Great Britain, and Zandalasini is listed on Italy's official roster. As of June 5th, all 12 players are with the team in Phoenix for the Valkyries game with the Mercury, sources tell ClutchPoints. The team has yet to confirm when exactly the potential EuroBasket players will depart from the team, as that is still an ongoing discussion. That spells the first big question for the Valkyries: How many games will they miss? The simple answer: somewhere between 6-to-10 games. But projecting precisely when Golden State's international players return is a little more complicated. Per the WNBA CBA's current prioritization rules, players committed to their national teams can leave no earlier than two weeks before the event begins. Additionally, they must return within 48 hours after their teams finish play according to Article XIV, Section 9(d) of the CBA. Advertisement With that in mind, EuroBasket spans from June 18th to June 29th, with the group stage ending June 21st- 22nd. That makes June 23-24 the earliest date they can return and July 1st the latest. The Valkyries play seven games between now and the end of the Group Stage and another three during the Knockout stage. As a result, when these four players return depends on how far their national teams get into the tournament. How does that affect Valkyries? Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Losing four players for three weeks would not be good for any team, but it's especially difficult for this Valkyries team. Golden State has been very publicly vocal about the fact that this team lacks on-court reps together because they are an expansion team in its first season. It's hard to imagine that losing four players less than 10 games into the season will make their on-the-fly chemistry-building process any easier. Advertisement From an X's and O's standpoint, the Valkyries will lose a lot of frontcourt depth. With Salaün and Fagbenle gone, Golden State is down its starting power forward and center without a clear pathway to replicating their strengths. The spacing and playmaking both bigs provide have been invaluable to head coach Natalie Nakase's emphasis on tempo and shooting. And in that same vein, Vanloo and Zandalasini have been Nakase's change-up pitch off the bench when the team needs some juice and energy. But looking glass half full, the leave of absence creates an opportunity for the players who are staying. One of the underlying storylines with the Valkyries so far is their rotational log jam. With 12 players collected through an expansion draft, the Valkyries don't have any superstars. However, they still have a bunch of role players all capable of seeing the floor, which is a good and a bad problem. It makes the Valkyries a very versatile team, which allows Nakase to take a matchup-oriented approach at the expense of rotational consistency. That leads to players like Kate Martin and Carla Leite occasionally catching DNPs even though they do log big minutes in certain games. The absence of these international players frees up minutes for the remaining Valkyries to cement themselves in the rotation by the time they return. Potential roster moves for the Valkyries Luckily, Golden State's other international players, Leite (France) and Kyara Linskens (Belgium), have reportedly not committed to their respective national teams, which leaves the Valkyries with eight rostered players. That allows them to sign two players to emergency hardship contracts to get back to 10 available players per the WNBA's team-building rules. That leaves first-time general manager Ohemaa Nyanin with some potentially pivotal roster decisions. Advertisement Backcourt-wise, Tiffany Hayes, Veronica Burton, Leite, and Martin should be enough. That leaves the Valkyries with needs in the frontcourt. Nakase is bound to trust Stephanie Talbot, Monique Billings, and Linskens on that front, with some potential small-ball Kayla Thornton lineups. But none of those players are consistent 3-point shooters, and size remains an issue despite Linskens' 6-7 stature. Among the familiar names to look out for are training camp participants Laeticia Amihere, Chloe Bibby, and Elissa Cunane. There's no official reporting on their current whereabouts, but they'd make seamless fits because they are familiar with Nakase's system. It's unlikely fan-favorite Kaitlyn Chen will rejoin the team due to her recent commitment to the 3XBA league, based around 3-on-3 basketball. That leaves one more huge question for the Valkyries: What does this team look like when everyone returns? It is difficult to project what the Valkyries look like in a month. While other WNBA teams have waived players who committed to EuroBasket, it's unlikely Golden State does the same because of how crucial all four departures are in their lineup. But a rotational shakeup is not out of the realm if players like Leite and Martin showcase their value. In any case, EuroBasket adds some roadblocks for a Valkyries team that is currently 2-4. How they answer that challenge depends on how the remaining players rally. Related: Valkyries veteran guard gets crucial injury update for Mercury clash
Hindustan Times
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Kayla Thornton helps Valkyries rout Aces
The Golden State Valkyries didn't play like underdogs on Saturday and Kayla Thornton had 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way in a 95-68 victory over the Las Vegas Aces at San Francisco. Cecilia Zandalasini scored 18 points, Monique Billings added 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, while Veronica Burton recorded 14 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds as the Valkyries ended a four-game losing streak. Leading into Saturday's game, Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase was shocked by her team's lack of energy in their last game, a loss to the Phoenix Mercury, and her team responded in a big way. Golden State pushed the pace from the opening jump and outscored the Aces by 16-0 in the first half on fast-break points and 10 forced turnovers. Golden State's lead pushed to 49-28 at halftime when Kate Martin took the last shot and hit a deep 3-point attempt which left Las Vegas stunned heading into the halftime locker room. The Valkyries held a 34-15 advantage in the second quarter. The Valkyries' defense held the visitors to 29 percent shooting from the floor to start the game but the Aces adjusted at halftime and head coach Becky Hammon's side opted to push into the paint to try and get to the free-throw line. It worked on the offensive end of the court and Las Vegas trimmed its deficit to 18 points, but defensively could not stop Golden State. Las Vegas never had a lead in the game, and was down by as many as 29 points in the third quarter, despite having three-time MVP A'ja Wilson on the roster. The Aces won two WNBA championships over the past three seasons. Wilson scored 17 points in the defeat, with 16 points by Chelsea Gray, the only two Las Vegas starters to reach double-digit points. First-year Aces guard and WNBA champion Jewell Loyd struggled offensively and went 1-of-6 from the floor with five points. The win is the first Commissioner's Cup victory in the Valkyries' history and most points scored in a game for Golden State in its eight-game history. Field Level Media
