Golden State Valkyries finalize their roster. Here’s who made the WNBA team.

OAKLAND The Golden State Valkyries have set their -player roster for Friday s season opener against the Los Angeles Sparks at Chase Center Among the surprises who survived final cuts Wednesday were Janelle Sala n who wasn t with the squad in training camp and Kyara Linskens who had a limited role in the group s two exhibition games But the roster won t include the band s three picks from last month s draft and veteran Laeticia Amihere who scored points in the preseason In the current era is a bittersweet day for our franchise general manager Ohemaa Nyanin stated after practice Wednesday Our staff made a lot of tough decisions in the current era There are a lot of dreams that came true in the modern day and there are a lot of dreams that were deferred Golden State Valkyries draft pick Kaitlyn Chen left General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin center and draft pick Shyanne Sellers right take part in a press conference on Wednesday April in Oakland Calif Sellers was the th selection and Chen the th selection for the Golden State Valkyries in the WNBA draft Aric Crabb Bay Area News Group To reach the roster limit the Valkyries waived their third-round draft pick Kaitlyn Chen along with a group of veterans that included Chloe Bibby Elissa Cunane and Migna Tour Coach Natalie Nakase announced she felt the group of players who made the club shared a strong chemistry on both ends of the floor This is connected Nakase mentioned The spacing we had at present was possibly the best I ve seen In terms of preparing for L A they re ready The details that they picked up they were on point at present After cutting Chen and releasing second-round pick Shyanne Sellers on May just five days into training camp the Valkyries will not have a contestant from their draft class on the roster to start the season First-round pick Just Jocyt did not join the company in training camp and was not expected to begin the season with the expansion club because of European basketball commitments But it remains unclear if she will play with the Valkyries at certain point this summer When sought about Jocyt s status on Wednesday Nyanin did not provide an answer But she explained the rookie s absence did not factor into any of the decisions from in the current era Sala n did not play in the Valkyries preseason games after fulfilling international commitments But Nyanin revealed the French forward is at present en road to the Bay Area and expects Sala n to join the crew soon Amihere a -foot- forward figured to have a good shot to make the roster when she scored a game-high points in her preseason debut last week against the Sparks nearly bringing Golden State back from a double-digit second-half deficit While Amihere s offensive upside was evident in the two preseason games she played the Valkyries opted to keep forwards that could fare better on the defensive end Sala n Kayla Thornton Stephanie Talbot and Cecilia Zandalasini were better defensive options than Amihere and Golden State opted to keep more size on the roster F gb nl and Billings are expected to play heavy minutes in the front court this season Linskens was considered a long shot to make the company at the start of training camp but impressed Nakase and the coaching staff with her ability to rebound and pass Against the Sparks Linskens grabbed eight rebounds in nine second half minutes I feel overwhelmed because I wasn t expecting it really Linskens disclosed of making the unit I m just grateful for the opportunity With Carla Leite Kate Martin Julie Vanloo Tiffany Hayes and Veronica Burton Golden State has a group of guards that blends young and old Hayes and Vanloo both in their mid- s bring a high level of experience for Leite Martin and Burton who are all younger than Burton started both preseason games but Leite has flashed likely to be the organization s starting point guard by the end of the season Leite a first-round pick by Dallas scored points in Golden State s - win over Phoenix on Sunday I think I m more reassured but I know I need to improve a lot of things about my challenge Leite commented While tough decisions had to be made there is a chance the players who were waived could make a return to the roster in the future With WNBA rosters being capped at injuries could open the door for players to sign -day contracts later in the season The women s EuroBasket tournament is set to take place in mid-June which means that there could also be opportunities for players to be signed to -day contracts in just a inadequate weeks The Valkyries have seven players from Europe on their roster though not all have committed to playing for their home country during the June tournament Nyanin reported she wouldn t rule out any player that was cut during training camp making a return to the roster We hope that if there s any opportunity to bring them back that we do that Nyanin disclosed