By R.L. Bynum

The good news for Lanie Grant is that she earned a spot on another United States team. The bad news is that she suffered a right ankle injury during three-on-three drills on Saturday.

Grant was one of 44 players in Colorado Springs since Wednesday trying to make the 12-team United States women’s roster that will play in the FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup from July 13–21 in Irapuato and Leon, Mexico, that USA Basketball announced on Sunday night.

Grant, who was held out of Sunday drills by the medical staff, said she “will be back fully in a few weeks.”

Carolina can only hope the injury is minor after backcourt injuries last season suffered by Paulina Paris, Reniya Kelly and Kayla McPherson drastically depleted the Tar Heels’ backcourt depth.

Grant is part of the Tar Heels’ three-player incoming freshman class, including Mountain Iron, Minn., guard Jordan Zubich and former Charlotte Catholic center Blanca Thomas.

Thomas was in Colorado Springs a week earlier trying out for the U.S. team for the FIBA U17 Women’s AmeriCup but wasn’t selected.

Grant is one of seven players picked for this U17 team who were part of the USA U16 National Team that won the gold medal last summer at the Women’s AmeriCup in Mexico, along with Jacy Abii, Addison Bjorn, Lola Lampley, Jerzy Robinson, Hailee Swain and McKenna Woliczko.

UNC offered scholarships to Abii in April 2023, Bjorn in July 2022, Lampley in June 2021 and Woliczko in May 2023. All are in the Class of 2026.

Alexandra Eschmeyer, Jordyn Palmer, Emilee Skinner, Kaleena Smith, and Ivana Wilson-Manyacka round out the roster.

Meg Barber of New York University is the coach.

The team will reconvene in Colorado Springs in early July.

The U17 Women’s World Cup includes 16 countries. All three Group C games for the Americans will start at 10 p.m. ET: facing Australia in its opener July 13, Puerto Rico on July 14 and Croatia on July 16.

After group play, every team advances to the single-elimination tournament.

USA Basketball U17 Women’s National Team

Year	No.	Players	Pos.	Height
Freshman	5	Liza Astakhova (LEE-zah uh-STAH-koh-vuh)	W	6–2
Freshman	7	Nyla Brooks	W	6–1
		Brooks brings dazzling skills, confidence to UNC
Freshman	3	Taliyah Henderson	W	6–1
		Long wait, journey for 5-star freshman Henderson after second knee surgery nearly over
Freshman	26	Taissa Queiroz	G	6–1
		Queiroz came to USA from Brazil to chase her dreams
Sophomore	17	Elina Aarnisalo (EH-lee-nah AHR-nee-sah-loh)	G	5–10
		Aarnisalo brings flash, IQ and pro experience to backcourt
Sophomore	0	Lanie Grant	G	5–9
Sophomore	34	Blanca Thomas	C	6–5
Sophomore	1	Jordan Zubich	G	5–11
RS sophomore	21	Ciera Toomey	F	6–4
RS sophomore	4	Laila Hull	W	6–1
Junior	10	Reniya Kelly	PG	5–7
Junior	15	Sydney Barker	PG	5–6
Senior	2	Nyla Harris	F	6–2
		It was hard for Harris to say ‘no’ to UNC again
Senior	24	Indya Nivar	G	5–10

Class of 2025

Player	Rating	ESPN rank	Position	Height	Hometown
Nyla Brooks	Five star	No. 13	Wing	6–2	Alexandria, Va.
Taliyah Henderson	Five star	No. 27	Wing	6–1	Vail, Ariz.
Taissa Queiroz	Four star	No. 77	Guard	6–1	Santa Rosa, Calif.
Liza Astakhova	—	—	Wing	6–1	Moscow, Russia

Date	Day/month	Time	Opponent/event (current ranks)	TV/ record
	October
30	Thursday	L, 91–82	No. 3 South Carolina in Atlanta	Exhib.
	November
3	Monday	W, 90–42	vs. N.C. Central	1–0
6	Thursday	W, 71–37	vs. Elon	2–0
			WBCA Challenge Las Vegas
13	Thursday	L, 78–60	vs. No. 4 UCLA	2–1
15	Saturday	W, 82–68	vs. Fairfield	3–1
			———————————
20	Thursday	W, 85–50	at N.C. A&T	4–1
23	Sunday	W, 94–48	vs. UNCG	5–1
			Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico
27	Thursday	W, 83–48	vs. South Dakota St.	6–1
28	Friday	W, 85–73	vs. Kansas State	7–1
29	Saturday	W, 80–63	vs. Columbia	8–1
	December		ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge
4	Thursday	W, 79–64	at No. 2 Texas	8–2
			———————————
7	Sunday	W, 82–40	vs. Boston Univ.	9–2
14	Sunday	L, 76–66, OT	vs. No. 16 Louisville	9–3, 0–1 ACC
17	Wednesday	8 p.m.	vs. UNCW	ACCN
21	Sunday	Noon	vs. Charleston Southern	ACCN Extra
29	Monday	8 p.m.	at Boston College	ACCN
	January
1	Thursday	Noon	vs. California	ACCN
4	Sunday	1 p.m.	vs. Stanford	ESPN
11	Sunday	1 p.m.	at No. 20 Notre Dame	ESPN
15	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Miami	ACCN Extra
18	Sunday	2 p.m.	at Florida State	The CW
22	Thursday	8 p.m.	at Georgia Tech	ACCN
25	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Syracuse	The CW
	February
2	Monday	6 p.m.	at N.C. State	ESPN2
5	Thursday	7 p.m.	vs. Clemson	ACCN
8	Sunday	2 p.m.	vs. Wake Forest	ACCN
12	Thursday	6 p.m.	vs. SMU	ACCN
15	Sunday	1 p.m.	at Duke	ABC
19	Thursday	6 p.m.	at Virginia Tech	ACCN
22	Sunday	Noon	vs. Pittsburgh	ACCN
26	Thursday	7 p.m.	at Virginia	ACCN Extra
	March
1	Sunday	Noon	vs. Duke	ESPN
			ACC tournament
4–8	Wed.-Sun		Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga.
			NCAA tournament
20–24	Fri.-Mon.		First, second rounds
27–30	Fri.-Mon.		Regionals Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif.
	April
3, 5	Fri., Sun		Final Four Phoenix