WNBA DRAFT

April 10, 2023

Laeticia Amihere

Atlanta Dream

Q. I just want to know what you're feeling? Congratulations getting into the WNBA, but also what it's like to have your freshies here with you to have this moment?

LAETICIA AMIHERE: It's an amazing experience really because this group of girls have been through life together. These four years haven't been only about basketball, but it's about growing as women together. Being able to be with them on one of our biggest nights has just been an amazing experience.

Q. The Atlanta Dream, they're a team that's really on the rise, and they have ownership that's really about changing the status quo in this league. I'm curious how you as a player maybe want to change the status quo, as well, and also I'm just curious what your conversations with Dan Padover and Tanisha Wright were like?

LAETICIA AMIHERE: Yeah, so I've been in a background where winning has been my culture. I've been winning for most of my life. Obviously very successful at South Carolina. I want to bring that winning culture to Atlanta. I know that that is their plan. That is what they're trying to do. They're on the rise right now, and that's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to bring a winning culture into the program.

Q. What do you know about the city of Atlanta, and how excited are you to be playing with Rhyne Howard?

LAETICIA AMIHERE: Yeah, Atlanta is a great city. I love Atlanta. It's only about three and a half hours from South Carolina. So I know the Gamecocks are going to show up loud and proud.

Rhyne is a phenomenal player. Obviously she was in the SEC and I had multiple opportunities playing against her, and I also played against her in high school. Just a phenomenal player, and I'm excited to finally be with her instead of playing against her. So it'll be exciting.

Q. Coach described herself as kind of the dream merchant for you guys. How important was she in getting your whole class to this point and preparing you for what the W is like?

LAETICIA AMIHERE: Coach Staley is a phenomenal coach. I mean that wholeheartedly, not just for her coaching style, but as a person she cares so deeply for us. When I came here I had a vision, but she also had a vision for me. She said, L.A., don't worry. That's what she would always say, because obviously I'm not getting as many minutes as I would at a different program. She said, L.A., don't worry, I got you. She stood with that promise, and I'm here now because of her and because of the coaching staff that believed in me.

I'm so thankful for who she is and what she has done for my journey.

Q. You are the highest Canadian draft pick since Kayla Alexander 10 years ago, and now you're one of four Canadians in the league. What does it mean for you that your journey has headlined the next generation of women's basketball in Canada?

LAETICIA AMIHERE: Wow, I did not know that. That is amazing to hear.

Playing on the national team, playing for Canada has been something that I take pride in. Obviously I'm wearing my Olympic necklace because it just means so much for me. But what means the most to me is those little girls that are looking. I have a nonprofit, and building up the women that are underserved and those women that are not getting those exposures, like the powerhouses in the United States and the bigger countries that have that, is my biggest goal.

All those Canadians and all those people that are not only Canadian but in West Africa in countries that are underserved and overlooked, you can make it. I promise you can because I was that kid, and I'm on the biggest stage now. I'm trying to pave a way for all those young women. So yeah, just keep going, because trust me, basketball is on the rise for women.

Q. What's it going to feel like playing one of your South Carolina Gamecock teammates in the pros now that you guys have been selected?

LAETICIA AMIHERE: Oh, it's going to be all business, for sure. It's going to be a lot of trash talking. We are so competitive even in practice, so I can only imagine playing against them. But it's going to be such a surreal moment to be able to play against your teammates on the highest level because not a lot of people can say that.

Q. Can you speak to you're coming into a program that really prides itself on its defense? You obviously came from a program that prides itself on its defense. Where does your defensive game play into the Dream system?

LAETICIA AMIHERE: Defense is my passion. That's something that I prided myself on. I'm lengthy, I disrupt and I'm going to go after it. That's something that I can promise to Atlanta: Whether it's a night that I get a couple minutes or a lot of minutes, I'm going to go out there and give it my all because it's something that I've always prided myself on is defense and trying to get possessions for my team.