Latest news with #VirginiaGatoradePlayeroftheYear
USA Today
9 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
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! — 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. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
USA Today
15-05-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
UNC WBB has one of the country's top 2025 recruiting classes according to ESPN
UNC WBB has one of the country's top 2025 recruiting classes according to ESPN How far will the UNC women's basketball team's newest recruits carry it? Despite watching its 2024-2025 season conclude against archrival Duke in the NCAA Tournament, the UNC women's basketball team has plenty to be proud of. North Carolina made its second Sweet 16 appearance in four years, a feat that hadn't occurred since the early 2000s. The Tar Heels, led by a trio of veterans in Alyssa Ustby, Maria Gakdeng and Lexi Donarski, made lockdown defense their trademark. UNC will carry a much younger look into its 2025-2026 campaign, though. Ustby, Gakdeng and Donarski are all out of eligibility. North Carolina will return nine players from last season, headlined by junior guard Reniya Kelly, but there's also a ton of excitement surrounding the Tar Heels' 2025 recruiting class. ESPN ranks UNC's 2025 recruiting class the country's fifth-best, thanks to a trio of Top-80 incoming recruits in Nyla Brooks (#17), Taliyah Henderson (#27) and Taissa Queiroz (#77). Brooks, a 6'2" guard from Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Va., was named Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year in March. This is the second straight year a North Carolina recruit earned this honor, with current guard Lanie Grant winning it in 2024. Henderson is a 5-star wing from Tuscon, Arizona who played her high school basketball at Salpointe Catholic. Queiroz, an incoming sophomore from Brazil who played her high school ball at Santa Rosa, Calif.'s Cardinal Newman High School, is listed as a 6'1" guard. The Tar Heels will have plenty of depth this coming season – and minutes up for grabs. With Ustby, Gakdeng and Donarski departing, I can easily see UNC's incoming trio getting lots of court time next season. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
NBC Sports
08-03-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
No. 14 Tar Heel women dominate boards, freshman Grant clutch at line in 60-56 win over No. 22 FSU
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Alyssa Ustby scored 12 points and grabbed 18 rebounds and freshman Lanie Grant made two free throws with 7.3 seconds left to give No. 14 North Carolina a 60-56 win over No. 22 Florida State in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on Friday. Reniya Kelly, who missed the previous three games with an injury, hit a jumper with just over a minute remaining to give the Tar Heels the lead and she connected again near the foul line to make it 58-54 with 20.4 seconds left. Ta'Niya Latson made two free throws for the Seminoles with 11.4 to go but then they had to foul three times before Grant went to the line. The 2024 Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year and early enrollee at UNC, calmly swished the clinchers after a timeout to ice her. The fifth-seeded Tar Heels play No. 7 N.C. State, the top seed, in Saturday's semifinals. Lexi Donarski also scored 12 points for the Tar Heels (27-6) and Indya Nivar added 10. With Maria Gakdeng grabbing 16 rebounds, the Tar Heels had a 53-40 rebounding advantage, 17-9 on the offensive end for a 21-2 difference on second-chance points. Makayla Timpson had 15 points, eight rebounds and she tied a tournament record with eight blocks for the fourth-seeded Seminoles (23-8). Latson added 13 points and O'Mariah Gordon had 12. Florida State won the regular-season matchup 86-84 when Latson made a layup as time ran out. This time the nation's leading scorer was held to half her scoring average on 3-of-14 shooting as the Seminoles had their lowest scoring game of the season. The largest lead in the second half was five points.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
No. 14 Tar Heel women dominate boards, freshman Grant clutch at line in 60-56 win over No. 22 FSU
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Alyssa Ustby scored 12 points and grabbed 18 rebounds and freshman Lanie Grant made two free throws with 7.3 seconds left to give No. 14 North Carolina a 60-56 win over No. 22 Florida State in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on Friday. Reniya Kelly, who missed the previous three games with an injury, hit a jumper with just over a minute remaining to give the Tar Heels the lead and she connected again near the foul line to make it 58-54 with 20.4 seconds left. Ta'Niya Latson made two free throws for the Seminoles with 11.4 to go but then they had to foul three times before Grant went to the line. The 2024 Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year and early enrollee at UNC, calmly swished the clinchers after a timeout to ice her. The fifth-seeded Tar Heels play the winner of No. 7 N.C. State and Georgia Tech in Saturday's semifinals. Lexi Donarski also scored 12 points for the Tar Heels (27-6) and Indya Nivar added 10. With Maria Gakdeng grabbing 16 rebounds, the Tar Heels had a 53-40 rebounding advantage, 17-9 on the offensive end for a 21-2 difference on second-chance points. Makayla Timpson had 15 points, eight rebounds and she tied a tournament record with eight blocks for the fourth-seeded Seminoles (23-8). Latson added 13 points and O'Mariah Gordon had 12. Florida State won the regular-season matchup 86-84 when Latson made a layup as time ran out. This time the nation's leading scorer was held to half her scoring average on 3-of-14 shooting as the Seminoles had their lowest scoring game of the season. The largest lead in the second half was five points. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women's college basketball: and
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
No. 14 Tar Heel women dominate boards, freshman Grant clutch at line in 60-56 win over No. 22 FSU
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Alyssa Ustby scored 12 points and grabbed 18 rebounds and freshman Lanie Grant made two free throws with 7.3 seconds left to give No. 14 North Carolina a 60-56 win over No. 22 Florida State in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament on Friday. Reniya Kelly, who missed the previous three games with an injury, hit a jumper with just over a minute remaining to give the Tar Heels the lead and she connected again near the foul line to make it 58-54 with 20.4 seconds left. Ta'Niya Latson made two free throws for the Seminoles with 11.4 to go but then they had to foul three times before Grant went to the line. The 2024 Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year and early enrollee at UNC, calmly swished the clinchers after a timeout to ice her. The fifth-seeded Tar Heels play the winner of No. 7 N.C. State and Georgia Tech in Saturday's semifinals. Lexi Donarski also scored 12 points for the Tar Heels (27-6) and Indya Nivar added 10. With Maria Gakdeng grabbing 16 rebounds, the Tar Heels had a 53-40 rebounding advantage, 17-9 on the offensive end for a 21-2 difference on second-chance points. Makayla Timpson had 15 points, eight rebounds and she tied a tournament record with eight blocks for the fourth-seeded Seminoles (23-8). Latson added 13 points and O'Mariah Gordon had 12. Florida State won the regular-season matchup 86-84 when Latson made a layup as time ran out. This time the nation's leading scorer was held to half her scoring average on 3-of-14 shooting as the Seminoles had their lowest scoring game of the season. The largest lead in the second half was five points. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women's college basketball: and The Associated Press
