It’s been less than six months since Jenna Lawrence led the Farmington girls’ basketball team to the Arkansas Class 5A State Championship in Hot Springs.
Now, the 6-3 freshman is having an immediate impact on the Arkansas women’s team, who recently returned from a successful preseason trip to Europe.
Arkansas went 3-0 on its 9-day tour of Croatia and Greece, dominating lesser competition than what lays ahead in the daunting SEC. But Lawrence made the most of the trip, scoring in double-figures twice in the three games, including 15 points in her first collegiate action, a 124-12 win over the InCroatia All-Stars.
Here nine rebounds left her one short of a double-double, while adding six steals on defense.
“I felt like my shooting game was really strong over there, and I’m very happy that it was, because that is what Coach (Mike) Neighbors and all the coaches recruited me to do,” Lawrence said. “So, I’ve really just been concentrating on shooting well and getting my release a little faster. That’s what I have been working on all summer and it paid off.”
She also netted a team-high 15 points in the final game, a 100-61 win over the University of Regina in Athens, Greece.