By R.L. Bynum
Lanie Grant and the No. 1-ranked United States team rolled Sunday night against an overmatched Puerto Rico team at the FIBA Women’s World Cup.
Grant, who an incoming freshman point guard at Carolina, scored 10 of her 18 points in the second half and was a team-high +60 as the Americans rolled to a 121–36 victory in Irapuato, Mexico, over No. 15 Puerto Rico.
The 85-point win ties the USA’s U17 record for the largest margin of victory set against South Korea in 2022.
Grant still isn’t 100% in her recovery from a right ankle injury suffered during trials to make the team, but she said that her timing is starting to come back. She credited the +60 to the team’s good ball movement.
“It was great,” Grant said of the crowd for the game at the Inforum arena. “I mean, just to see that many people supporting women’s basketball here, it’s just amazing and it’s fun, no matter who the crowd’s rooting for. The energy’s contagious, and we had a lot of fun.”
Starting for the second consecutive game for the 2–0 USA team, Grant was 6 of 13 from the floor and scored a team-high four 3-pointers (on nine attempts) with four assists and two steals. The team matched the USA U17 3-pointers record set against Mexico in 2014 and Canada in 2010.
Subscribe to read Tar Heel Tribune ad-free
Subscribe for a cleaner, smoother reading experience without the flashing banners, slow-loading elements, or those especially annoying pop‑up ads that interrupt the flow of the story. You’ll also get the first version of each story emailed to you. The only ads you’ll see are static, non-intrusive ads for UNC‑related books, and there are none currently on the site.
The No. 1-ranked Americans get a day off before finishing Pool C play at 10 p.m. Tuesday against No. 9 Croatia, which only beat Puerto Rico 77–65 on Saturday. The Croatians played Australia on Sunday night.
Grant assisted on a McKenna Woliczko jumper for the first USA points, and her layup with 5:35 left in the first quarter pushed the lead to 15–2. Her 3-pointer with 7:16 left in the first half ballooned the lead to 52–12. It became 84–18 after her 3-pointer with 6:16 remaining in the third quarter.
Jordyn Palmer led the USA with 20 points.
USA 121, Puerto Rico 36
| 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. 4 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. 2 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. 3 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 13 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 93–74 | vs. Charleston Southern | 11–3 |
| 29 | Monday | W, 90–38 | at Boston College | 12–3, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at No. 22 Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 61–59 | at N.C. State | 18–5, 7–3 |
| 5 | Thursday | W, 53–44 | vs. Clemson | 19–5, 8–3 |
| 8 | Sunday | W, 84–56 | vs. Wake Forest | 20–5, 9–3 |
| 12 | Thursday | W, 94–42 | vs. SMU | 21–5, 10–3 |
| 15 | Sunday | L, 72–68 | at No. 8 Duke | 21–6, 10–4 |
| 19 | Thursday | W, 66–63, OT | at Virginia Tech | 22–6, 11–4 |
| 22 | Sunday | W, 78–50 | vs. Pittsburgh | 23–6, 12–4 |
| 26 | Thursday | W, 82–70 | at Virginia | 24–6, 13–4 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 72–69 | vs. No. 8 Duke | 25–6, 14–4 |
| ACC tournament | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 85–68 | Quarterfinal vs. Va. Tech | 26–6 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 65–57 | Semifinal vs. No. 13 Louisville | 26–7 |
| NCAA tournament Fort Worth 1 Regional | ||||
| 21 | Friday | W, 82–51 | First round in Chapel Hill: vs. Western Illinois | 27–7 |
| 23 | Sunday | Noon | Second round in Chapel Hill: No. 17 Maryland | ESPN |
| 27 | Friday | TBA | Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, Texas (with Sunday win): vs. No. 1 UConn, or Syracuse | TBA |
Photos courtesy of FIBA
