The University of Kentucky women’s basketball program inked a veteran 5-8 guard to its incoming class, head coach Kenny Brooks announced Sunday.
Dazia Lawrence (pronounced like Day-Zha), a graduate transfer out of Charlotte, will join the program in 2024-25.
“We are excited to add Dazia to BBN,” Brooks said. “She brings a wealth of experience and leadership to the program and will provide a scoring punch.”
Native of Greenville, North Carolina, Dazia Lawrence spent four seasons (2021–2024) at Charlotte, where she finished with 1,170 points, 287 rebounds, 162 assists, and 133 steals. Her junior and senior seasons were when she added the most to her stats as a Niner.
She just finished her best season to date, averaging 18.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.7 steals per game while a senior in 2023–2024. Thirteen of her thirty-plus point games and thirteen of her thirty-plus point games from the previous season had her score in double figures. In a victory over Temple on February 4, she surpassed 1,000 career points, scoring 20 of her 29 points in the second half and 14 in the third.
In a close contest against Southern Illinois on Nov. 23, Lawrence scored 32 of Charlotte’s 52 points. In another notable contest, she recorded a double-double on 15 points and a career-high 11 assists in a win over Tulane on Jan. 17, adding four steals and two rebounds in the triumph.
Lawrence got to the line 170 times last season, making 136 for 80.0 percent at the stripe. In fact, she made 11 of 12 free throws in a win at Rice on Jan. 11, going 8-of-8 in just the fourth quarter.
Lawrence’s remarkable exploits in 2023–2024 earned her a spot on the American Athletic Conference First Team, and as a junior in 2022–2023 she was named to the Conference-USA First Team.
She participated in the 2023 FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup in Poland as a member of Team USA, together with Zia Alexandria Cooke, Aquira DeCosta, and Dyaisha Cheryce Fair. In the final results, Team USA came in eleventh place out of twenty teams.
Additionally, she attended the 2024 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum on behalf of Charlotte and the AAC.
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, Lawrence chose not to participate in team activities during the semester break in 2020–21 after redshirting in 2019–20.
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