Carla

Leite

While Golden State’s starters made some big plays in crunch time, the team’s bench came up big on Thursday. The Valkyries’ reserves outscored their Wings counterparts by a 35-7 margin, with Leite leading the way. Three games removed from matching her season-high with 19 points, the rookie guard contributed 15 to help the Valkyries clinch their first postseason berth. Monique Billings also hit double figures off the bench, finishing with 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and three blocked shots. Those two will be critical for the Valkyries moving forward, as the franchise has leaned heavily on its depth to surprise the WNBA.

Initially questionable for Saturday’s game with a right ankle injury, Leite looked healthy during her 19 minutes on the court. The Valkyries guard did not miss a shot from the field in the blowout victory, with the 19 points being the most she’s scored in a game since May 23 (19 vs. Los Angeles). While Leite has not been a consistently productive scorer, she has hit double figures in seven games since the All-Star break. By comparison, she had four double-digit scoring efforts before the break.

Leite is back after missing Golden State’s most recent game, an August 24 win over the Wings, with a right ankle injury. She’ll provide additional perimeter depth off the bench as Golden State plays a second game without Tiffany Hayes (illness, knee). Kaila Charles will remain in the starting lineup.

Leite left the Valkyries’ Friday game against the Mercury at the beginning of the fourth quarter. While Leite was previously ruled questionable, she has been downgraded to out. Without Leite and Tiffany Hayes available for Sunday afternoon’s game against the Wings, the Valkyries will have to rely upon Kaila Charles, who gets the start, in addition to Kate Martin and Kaitlyn Chen.

After previously being questionable for the Valkyries game on Sunday against the Wings, Hayes has been since downgraded to out. She left her team’s game on Friday night with 7:17 left in the third quarter when she collided into Mercury wing Kahleah Copper. Kaila Charles will take Hayes’ place in the starting lineup on Sunday, getting her first start since joining the Valkyries. Head coach Natalie Nakase will be calling on more minutes from other guards Kate Martin and Kaitlyn Chen while Golden State will also be without Carla Leite in addition to Hayes.

Leite exited Friday night’s game against the Mercury with 8:20 minutes left in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury. It wasn’t blatantly obvious as to which play Leite sustained her injury, but guards Kate Martin and Kaitlyn Chen stayed in the game for extended minutes shortly after Leite was subbed out.

Hayes did not play in Tuesday’s loss to the Mercury, resulting in Carla Leite moving into the starting lineup. Leite, who’s questionable with a foot injury, will likely come off the bench if she can play in Friday’s rematch.

Leite, who played 32 minutes in Tuesday’s loss to the Valkyries, is questionable for Friday’s rematch with a foot injury. Golden State has been hit hard by injuries recently, and the rookie’s absence would put the team in a difficult spot depth-wise. Kaila Charles and Kaitlyn Chen would likely see their minutes hold steady if Leite sits, as Tiffany Hayes (rest) is off the injury report after not playing on Tuesday.

With Tiffany Hayes (rest) being a late scratch, Leite was inserted into the Valkyries’ starting lineup Tuesday night. The rookie guard had her moments, with the 15 points being the most she’s scored in a game since a June 9 win over Las Vegas. Leite totaled 14 points in the four games before Tuesday, a reminder that double-digit scoring efforts have not been the norm for her. With Golden State off until Friday’s rematch with the Mercury in Phoenix, fantasy managers should anticipate Hayes being back in the starting lineup.

Hayes is a late scratch for Tuesday’s game, opening up a spot in the starting lineup. The vacancy will be filled by Carla Leite, who makes her sixth start of the season and first since August 3. In her five previous starts, Leite averaged 11.0 points and 3.0 assists per game. Rounding out the starting five are Veronica Burton, Janelle Salaün, Kate Martin and Temi Fágbénlé.