By R.L. Bynum
Lanie Grant has already helped her country win gold in international competition twice and will try out for the chance to do it again.
Grant, a 5–9 rising sophomore guard for North Carolina, is one of 27 players expected to participate in tryouts in Colorado Springs, Colo., beginning June 18 for the American team that will compete in the FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup on July 12–20 in Brno, Czechia.
Grant is one of five rising sophomores, along with USC’s Kaleigh Heckel, Texas’ Jordan Lee, Florida’s Aliva McGill and UCLA’s Zania Soca who will try out.
Invitees include eight rising freshmen — UCLA’s Sienna Betts, Oklahoma’s Aaliyah Chavez, Texas’ Aaliyah Crump, USC’s Jasmine ‘Jazzy’ Davidson, Mississippi State’s Madison Francis, LSU’s ZaKiyah Johnson, Duke’s Emilee Skinner and Stanford’s Hailee Swain — and 13 members of the high school class of 2026: Kelsi Andrews, Addison Bjorn, Autumn Fleary, Bella Flemings, Maddyn Greenway, Saniyah Hall, Kate Harpring, Jayla ‘Jordyn’ Jackson, Trinity Jones, Jerzy Robinson, Oumou ‘Mimi’ Thiero and Lilly Williams. Class of 2027 player De’Andra Minor and Class of 2028 player Sydney Douglas will also try out.
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Grant, Andrews, Bjorn, Robinson and Swain are two-time gold medalists, having competed together at the 2023 FIBA U16 Women’s AmeriCup and 2024 FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup. Crump, Jackson, and Jones were all members of the 2023 U16 squad, while Skinner competed with the 2024 U17 team.
Grant averaged 9.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists at the 2024 World Cup after averaging 13.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists in the 2023 AmeriCup.
In 34 games last season for UNC as a freshman, including two starts, Grant averaged 7.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 36.4% from the floor and 34.6% from 3-point range.
Last season would have been her senior year of high school, but she graduated early and began her college career.
Coaches for the U19 team include Indiana’s Teri Moren, South Florida’s Jose Fernandez and Notre Dame’s Niele Ivey. That trio led the 2024 USA Women’s U18 to gold at the FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup last summer.
The United States will compete in Group A alongside Israel, Hungary and Korea. The opener will be July 12 against Korea, before taking on Hungary the following day, both at 2:15 p.m. ET. Group play concludes against Israel on July 15 at 8:30 a.m. ET.
| Year | No. | Players | Pos. | Height | |
| Freshman | 11 | Kate Harpring | PG | 5–10 | |
| Freshman | 52 | Noelle Bofia | F | 6–4 | |
| Sophomore | 3 | Gabby White — W | G | 5–10 | |
| Sophomore | 7 | Nyla Brooks | W | 6–1 | |
| Sophomore | 26 | Taissa Queiroz | G | 6–1 | |
| Junior | 34 | Blanca Thomas | C | 6–5 | |
| Junior | 1 | Jordan Zubich | G | 5–11 | |
| Senior | 21 | Ciera Toomey | F | 6–4 | |
| Senior | 4 | Laila Hull | W | 6–1 | |
| Senior | 5 | Sophie Burrows — X | G | 6–2 | |
| Senior | 8 | Achol Akot — Y | F | 6–1 | |
| Senior | 10 | Reniya Kelly | G | 5–7 | |
| Senior | 15 | Sydney Barker | G | 5–6 | |
| Senior | 13 | Chloe Clardy — Z | G | 5–9 |
W — Virginia transfer; X — Syracuse transfer; Y — Oklahoma State transfer; Z — Stanford transfer
Former players who entered transfer portal
| Player | Class next season | Pos. | Hgt | Next school |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elina Aarnisalo | Junior | G | 5–10 | UCLA |
| Lanie Grant | Junior | G | 5–9 | TCU |
| Taliyah Henderson | Sophomore | W | 6–1 | Clemson |
| Liza Astakhova | Sophomore | G | 6–2 | BYU |
UNC schedule
| Date | Day/ month | Time | Opponent/event (rank in final poll) |
|---|---|---|---|
| October | |||
| 18 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Davidson (exhibition) |
| November | |||
| 2 | Monday | TBA | Oui-Play in Paris vs. No 12 Oklahoma |
| 8 | Sunday | 5:30 | Ally Tipoff in Charlotte vs. No. 2 South Carolina |
| 11 | Wednesday | TBA | vs. N.C. Central |
| 14 | Saturday | TBA | at Penn in Palestra |
| WBCA Showcase | Orlando | ||
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. Texas Tech |
| 21 | Saturday | 5 p.m. | vs. No. 24 Alabama |
| ——— | |||
| 24 | Tuesday | TBA | vs. Gardner-Webb |
| 27 | Friday | TBA | vs. Army |
| 29 | Sunday | TBA | vs. Brown |
| December | |||
| 2 | Wednesday | 7:15, ESPN2 | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge vs. No. 8 LSU |
| 6 | Sunday | TBA | vs. Elon |
| 9 | Wednesday | 11 a.m. | vs. Winthrop |
| 13 | Sunday | TBA | vs. N.C. State |
| 17 | Thursday | TBA | vs. Georgia Tech |
| 21 | Monday | TBA | vs. Norfolk State |
| 28 | Monday | TBA | vs. UNCW |
| 31 | Thursday | TBA | at Syracuse |
| January | |||
| 3 | Sunday | TBA | at Clemson |
| 7 | Thursday | TBA | vs. Wake Forest |
| 10 | Sunday | TBA | at No. 11 Louisville |
| 17 | Sunday | TBA | vs. Boston College |
| 21 | Thursday | TBA | at California |
| 24 | Sunday | TBA | at Stanford |
| 28 | Thursday | TBA | vs. No. 9 Notre Dame |
| 31 | Sunday | TBA | vs. No. 5 Duke |
| February | |||
| 4 | Thursday | TBA | at Miami |
| 7 | Sunday | TBA | vs. Virginia Tech |
| 14 | Sunday | TBA | at SMU |
| 18 | Thursday | TBA | at Pittsburgh |
| 21 | Sunday | TBA | vs. Florida State |
| 25 | Thursday | TBA | vs. No. 19 Virginia |
| 28 | Sunday | TBA | at No. 5 Duke |
| March | |||
| 3–7 | Wed.-Sun. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of FIBA
