The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

HER first season playing collegiate basketball in Canada was a dominant one and Leashja Grant was awarded for her efforts by the Lakehead Thunderwolves Athletic programme.

Grant earned the Female Athlete of the Year and Women's Basketball Most Valuable Player awards when Lakehead Athletics celebrated the 2017-2018 season at their Annual Awards Gala.

She averaged 22.3 points and 14.1 points per game over the course of the season and was named Ontario University Athletics Player of the Year and a U SPORTS 1st Team All-Canadian.

Grant not only led the conference but also ranked as the second-leading scorer and top rebounder in the country. Grant also holds the U SPORTS record for most rebounds in a single season with 338 in 24 games.

"I am extremely proud of Leashja Grant. In just her first year in the OUA she broke the all-time rebound record for a season and has set the standard as a double-double machine. I also feel that she has just started to figure out what it takes to elevate her and her team's game to an elite level," Thunderwolves head coach Jon Kreiner said on the school's athletic website.

"We feel that Leashja will come back to Lakehead University next season stronger than ever and motivated to break more records while taking us closer to our goal of winning an OUA title."

Grant, the 6' 2" forward, is pursuing an honours bachelor in psychology.

"Performing on and off the court is something that I'm used to," Grant said in an interview with The Tribune earlier this season. "It's an every day lifestyle that I'm accustomed. But it's really great to start the year off the way I did. I give all praise and glory to God. I want to thank my family and my friends, especially my dad, for never giving up on me. I'm trying to play as hard as I can on and off the court and be able to play at my best."

Once she's done in Canada, Grant said she hopes to pursue a professional contract in the Women's National Basketball Association where she would like to play alongside Grand Bahamian Jonquel Jones of the Connecticut Sun. If that doesn't work out, Grant said she would be content with playing pro ball overseas in Europe and eventually returning home to the Bahamas to do some coaching with her father.

Prior to this season in Canada, Grant last played collegiately for the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Big 12 at the NCAA Division I level during the 2015-16 season

She averaged 7.7 points and 6.8 rebounds per game for the Red Raiders in her lone season in Lubbock, Texas.

Visa issues prevented Grant from returning to the Red Raiders for a second season and forced her to sit out a year.

She spent the past off-season with a noteworthy appearance on the women's senior national team for the second time. Despite a 5th place finish at the Women's Centrobasket Championships, Grant led the Bahamas and averaged a double double with 15.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.

Prior to her time with Texas Tech, Grant played at the junior college level with the Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals.

In her sophomore and final season with the Cardinals, Grant averaged a double double with 12.1 points and 12.9 rebounds per game.