LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) -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.”

Dazia Lawrence, a Greenville, North Carolina, native, played four seasons at Charlotte (2021-24), combining for 1,170 points, 287 rebounds, 162 assists and 133 steals, with the bulk of her production added during her junior and senior years as a Niner.

She is coming off her most successful season yet, averaging 18.2 points per game, 4.2 rebounds per game, 2.6 assists per game and 1.7 steals per game as a senior in 2023-24. She scored in double digits in 26 of her 31 games last season, which included 13 20-plus point games and a trio of 30-plus point games. She eclipsed 1,000 career points in a win over Temple on Feb. 4, scoring 20 of her 29 points in the second half and 14 in the fourth quarter.

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 was named to the American Athletic Conference First Team for her showstopping performances in 2023-24, and she was named to the Conference-USA First Team as a junior in 2022-23.

Last summer, she played for Team USA in the 2023 FIBA 3×3 U23 World Cup in Poland, alongside Zia Alexandria Cooke, Aquira DeCosta and Dyaisha Cheryce Fair. Team USA finished 11th out of 20 teams in the final standings.

She also represented Charlotte and the AAC at the 2024 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum.

Lawrence redshirted in 2019-20 before opting out of team activities at the semester break in 2020-21 because of the coronavirus outbreak.

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