Lawrence, Janice (1962—)

African-American basketball player. Born on June 7, 1962, in Lucedale, Mississippi; graduated from Louisiana Tech University, 1984.

Won the Wade Trophy (1984); was a member of the U.S. team which won the gold medal in the Los Angeles Olympics (1984); played professional ball with the Women's American Basketball Association.

Janice Lawrence, who was born in Lucedale in 1962, saw basketball as a ticket out of Mississippi. On scholarship at Louisiana Tech, she became a valuable center-forward, averaging 20.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game. She was particularly adept at steals and led her team in that category. In 1983, Lawrence was a member of the U.S. team that placed first at the Pan-American Games. She was also named to the U.S. World University Games team and the Kodak All-American team. While Lawrence played for Louisiana Tech, her team was inevitably in the Final Four and won two NCAA championships. No one was surprised when Janice Lawrence was chosen Most Valuable Player of the 1983 national tournament. In 1984, she was named to the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team which won the gold medal in Los Angeles. By the end of her college career, Lawrence had amassed 2,403 points, 1097 rebounds, and 194 assists. When the professional Women's American Basketball Association got underway in 1984, Lawrence was the first college senior chosen. She then played with a New York franchise for a short time.

sources:

Markel, Robert, Nancy Brooks, and Susan Markel. For the Record: Women in Sports. NY: World Almanac, 1985.

Page, James A. Black Olympian Medalists. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1991.

Karin Loewen Haag , Athens, Georgia