Mississauga native and Oakville grad picked in first round of WNBA Draft

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Published April 17, 2023 at 9:51 am

Laeticia Amihere, a Mississauga native and Oakville high school grad, is shown here celebrating her team's NCAA women's basketball title game win last year. (Photo: Laeticia Amihere Twitter)

A little over one year ago, Laeticia Amihere and her University of South Carolina Gamecocks became NCAA women’s basketball champions.

One week ago in New York City, the 21-year-old Mississauga native and Oakville private school grad added to an already impressive sports resume when she was selected by the Atlanta Dream in the first round, eighth overall, at the 2023 WNBA Draft.

The 6-foot-4 forward, a strong defender, should immediately help the Dream, which finished 14-22 last year.

Amihere’s selection by Atlanta makes her the highest Canadian draft pick in the WNBA in 10 years. Milton’s Kayla Alexander, a centre, was also chosen eighth overall (2013), by the San Antonio Silver Stars.

The Mississauga native is also now one of only four active Canadians playing in the WNBA.

Natalie Achonwa, of Toronto, and Chatham native Bridget Carleton both suit up for the Minnesota Lynx while Hamilton’s Kia Nurse is a member of the Seattle Storm.

This past NCAA season, the Gamecocks made it to the Final Four once again, this time falling to Iowa in a semi-final tilt.

Amihere, a key player off the bench for the Gamecocks in her four seasons at South Carolina, netted eight points and grabbed six rebounds in 15 minutes of play in the semi-final loss.

Her South Carolina teammate all four years, Aliyah Boston, was selected first overall in the April 10 WNBA Draft by the Indiana Fever.

Amihere, whose resume also includes appearances at the Olympics, FIBA Women’s World Cup and FIBA Women’s AmeriCup, averaged 7.1 points per game, adding 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per contest this past season.

In her four years with the Gamecocks, the team went 129-9 overall, making it to the Final Four three times and winning it once.

An early graduate of King’s Christian Collegiate in Oakville in late 2018, Amihere was the 10th-ranked women’s basketball prospect in her class when she went to South Carolina.

She had already suffered two ACL tears by the time she joined the Gamecocks four years ago.

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