Janice Lawrence played college ball for Louisiana Tech where she led the team to the national championship in 1981 and 1982, being named tournament MVP in her sophomore year, 1982. She was a college All-American in her junior and senior years. Lawrence played for the US at the 1983 Pan American Games, winning a gold medal, in addition to her 1984 Olympic gold medal. She then played professionally, starting in the Women’s American Basketball Association in the mid-1980s with the New York team. That league lasted only a few years, so she later played 13 years in Italy with Vicenza, Messina, and Parma. Lawrence helped Vicenza win four European Champions Cups, averaging almost 23 points/game, and in 1997 was named an All-Star. Lawrence returned to the US to play her last two years (1997-99) with the Cleveland Rockers of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). Lawrence was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.
United States