UNC women's basketball team's top reserve earns Team USA Basketball invite
UNC women's basketball team's top reserve earns Team USA Basketball invite One of the UNC women's basketball team's top guards earned a pretty exclusive offseason honor.
For the Red, White & Blue 🇺🇸
Congrats Lanie on earning an invite to USA Basketball's Women's U19 Trials! pic.twitter.com/3IZTwNK5OO — Carolina Women's Basketball (@uncwbb) June 5, 2025
The UNC women's basketball team is fresh off one of its best seasons under head coach Courtney Banghart, advancing to the Sweet 16 for the second time in four seasons.
A major portion of North Carolina's success came from its veteran trio of Alyssa Ustby, Maria Gakdeng and Lexi Donarski, who played their final year of college basketball. The Tar Heels welcomed a few high school recruits to Chapel Hill, while lucking out in the transfer portal.
One of UNC's greatest additions was sixth woman Lanie Grant, the 2024 Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year. In two starts across 37 games played for North Carolina, Grant averaged 7.3 points per game (best amongst reserves).
Just three months removed from her freshman season, Grant received some big news, earning an invite to the USA Basketball Women's U19 Trials on June 18.
Grant, one of 27 athletes selected, has an opportunity to make the final, 12-player roster. The 2025 FIBA U19 Women's World Cup will take place July 12-20 in Brno, Czech Republic.
Though she came off the bench for most of the Tar Heels' games last season, Grant delivered a major impact. Grant scored in double digits 11 times, netting a career-high 19 points during UNC's 79-75 win at Louisville on February 23.
Grant will likely be asked to step into a starting role during North Carolina's upcoming campaign, replacing Lexi Donarski as a starting guard. The Tar Heels will have a younger, new-look roster, with Grant poised to take on a leadership role in just Year Two.
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