Golden State Valkyries make Northeast Ohio native’s WNBA dreams come true

CLEVELAND, Ohio — After leading Maryland to the Sweet 16 of this year’s NCAA women’s basketball tournament, Aurora native Shyanne Sellers is on her way to the big leagues after being drafted No. 17 overall by the newly formed Golden State Valkyries of the WNBA.

The 6-foot-2 guard was an honorable mention All-American, a first-team All-Big Ten performer for the third straight year, and became the first player in Terrapins history with 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.

“She’s just building really good, consistent habits. She doesn’t have to do as much but she wants the big moment,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said early on during Sellers’ matriculation at Maryland. “She’s competitive. She has a high motor, high energy. She belongs, and I think that’s the biggest compliment you can give.”

The daughter of former NBA player and Warrensville Heights Mayor Brad Sellers and local radio host Kym Sellers, Northeast Ohioans have known Shyanne Sellers is a handful to deal with on the court for a long time.

She was named the 2020-21 cleveland.com girls basketball player of the year in a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, after putting up 23.2 points, 13.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.8 blocks per game in her senior year at Aurora.

Sellers averaged 14.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists while shooting 46.2% from the floor, 40.8% from 3 and 86.8% from the charity stripe in her final season with the Terrapins.

One of her best games as a Terp came in the tournament this year when she led Maryland past Alabama in the Round of 32 in double overtime with 28 points.

“I took some pieces from each of my sisters’ styles of play and kind of created my own,” Sellers said in an interview for the University of Maryland. “I play very unorthodoxly. A lot of point guards aren’t 6-foot-2. A lot of girls can’t handle the ball at 6-foot-2. I kind of just play my way, and you know, that kind of positively affected me, and I just took what they gave me in their knowledge and put it into my game.”