By R.L. Bynum
Most high school graduates enjoy a ceremony with their classmates in their hometown, but Lanie Grant’s path was different, and so was her ceremony and location.
Grant reclassified after earning Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year honors her junior season at James River High School in Midlothian, Va., so that she could join the North Carolina women’s basketball program as a freshman next season.
An excellent student, the talented point guard only needed to take a government course and an English course to earn her high school diploma early. She finished the government course while training in Colorado Springs, Colo., with the United States U17 Women’s World Cup team.
After helping the No. 1-ranked American team win its first two games Saturday (82–55 over No. 3 Australia) and Sunday (121–36 over No. 12 Puerto Rico) in Irapuato, Mexico, she completed the English course during the team’s off day on Monday.
After she scored 17 points in Tuesday’s 123–42 win over No. 9 Croatia and netted 15 in the USA’s round-of-16 114–34 victory over No. 16 Egypt on Wednesday, the team got another off day on Thursday, and that came with a surprise.
Her teammates and coaches conducted an impromptu graduation ceremony in the hallway of the team’s hotel, complete with a rolled-up paper featuring a USA Basketball logo and reading, “Congratulations on graduating high school, Lanie.”
“They made me cry,” said Grant, whose parents are in Mexico for the World Cup competition. “Complete surprise.”
Here teammates lined up on both sides of the hallway and linked hands so that Grant could walk under the makeshift tunnel.
“Thank you to everybody who came out,” Grant says on the video.
In her first game as a high school graduate, Grant, who is averaging 14 points per game and has scored a team-high 10 3-pointers, is expected again to be in the starting lineup at 5:30 p.m. ET Friday as the USA faces No. 7 Japan in the quarterfinals. You can watch a streaming broadcast of the game here.
FIBA Women’s U17 World Cup
United States schedule
In Leon and Irapuato, Mexico
(All times Eastern)
Group C pool play
Saturday: No. 1 USA 82, No. 3 Australia 55 in Irapuato
— Grant: Started; 24 minutes, 6 points, 3–11 FG, 0–4 3PFG, 4 rebounds, 1 turnover, 2 steals, +21
Sunday: No. 1 USA 121, No. 12 Puerto Rico 36 in Irapuato
— Grant: Started; 26 minutes, 18 points, 6–13 FG, 4–8 3PFG, 1 rebound, 4 assists, 1 foul, 3 turnovers, 2 steals, +60 (team-high)
Tuesday: No. 1 USA 123, No. 9 Croatia 42 in Irapuato
— Grant: Started; 22 minutes, 17 points, 7–12 FG, 3–7 3PFG, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 fouls, 1 turnover, 3 steals, +34
Round of 16
Wednesday: No. 1 USA 114, No. 16 Egypt 34
— Grant: Started; 23 minutes, 15 points, 6–9 FG, 3–5 3PFG, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 fouls, 1 turnover, 2 steals, +50 (team-high)
Quarterfinals
Friday: No. 1 USA 95, No. 7 Japan 59
— Grant: Started; 25 minutes, 8 points, 3–8 FG, 0–4 3PFG, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 foul, 2 turnovers, 1 block, +12
Semifinals
Saturday: No. 1 USA 84, No. 4 France 66
— Grant: Started; 14 minutes, 7 points, 3–6 FG, 0–1 3PFG, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers, 1 steal, -2
Championship
Sunday: No. 1 USA 84, No. 2 Canada 64
— Grant: Started; 11 minutes, 6 points, 3–9 FG, 0–5 3PFG, 1 rebound, 1 foul, 1 turnover, +2
— Grant World Cup statistics: 7 games, 20.5 minutes, 11.0 points, 45.6% FG, 28.6 3PFG%, 83.3% FT, 2.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.7 of a foul, 1.6 turnovers, 0.1 of a block, +25.3
| 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 | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 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 |
Photo screenshot from @usabjnt video
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