By Billy McGee
May 27, 2026
Photo: Phillip Gripper / CLTure
Mallard Creek High School graduate and former Charlotte 49ers women’s basketball star Dazia Lawrence has returned to the Queen City to play for the Charlotte Crown in the new UPSHOT League.
“I went overseas, and now I’m back in Charlotte, so I’m happy to be home,” Lawrence told us in an interview prior to the home opener.
Like many players in the newly formed women’s professional basketball UPSHOT League, Lawrence is getting the opportunity to further her development and continue her playing career in the States while pursuing another shot at the WNBA. Prior to the upstart league opening play in mid-May, there were limited opportunities for professional women’s basketball players in the U.S. that served as an alternative to the overseas route.
“I think it’s huge, and I think it’s really something that can grow into something bigger,” she said.
The UPSHOT League features players who have taken a variety of paths to reach their current destinations, from former WNBA draft picks to players like Lawrence, who didn’t get their opportunity immediately out of college, but still want to showcase their talents. Despite their varying journeys, many share the same goal of continuing to play the sport they love and have dedicated their lives to.
Lawrence grew up watching and admiring players like Skylar Diggins-Smith, Jewell Loyd, and Cierra Burdick, who was also one of her AAU coaches. Originally from Greenville, she moved to Charlotte in the sixth grade, where she began drawing attention from college coaches and received her first scholarship offer in the eighth grade from the Charlotte 49ers.
After spending her freshman year at Vance (now Julius L. Chambers High School), Lawrence transferred to Mallard Creek High School, where she became one of the area’s top players. She was selected to the Charlotte Observer’s girls basketball all-decade team and earned 2019 4A Conference Mecklenburg County Player of the Year honors after averaging 23.6 points, 2.8 assists, 2.3 steals, and 1.6 rebounds during her senior season.
But Lawrence also faced adversity early in her high school career, suffering a serious knee injury that required surgery.
“This happened right before my junior year, and that’s a critical year for AAU,” said Lawrence. “So that summer I didn’t play, and that caused me to lose a lot of my Power Five offers, but Coach Cara [Consuegra] was always around, and UNC Charlotte was always around.”
Lawrence spent four seasons at Charlotte under coach Cara Consuegra, averaging 16.9 points per game during her junior season and 18.2 points per game as a senior while earning First Team All-Conference honors in back-to-back years. After Consuegra left Charlotte to take the head coaching job at Marquette, Lawrence faced a major decision with an extra year of eligibility due to Covid. She ultimately chose to transfer to the blueblood Kentucky women’s basketball program for her final collegiate season.
“I was 100% ready to spend my whole collegiate career at UNC Charlotte, but once the opportunity opened up for me to transfer and I saw schools reaching out, I thought, ‘Okay, maybe this is the opportunity for me to really help my draft stock or help with my overseas preparation.’”
During her lone season with Kentucky, Lawrence evolved into more of a perimeter shooter, increasing her three-point attempts from 3.6 per game to 5.5 while improving her efficiency from 31.3% to 39% from beyond the arc. After the season, she began preparing for the jump to the professional level.
“Everyone is going to go through something totally different,” Lawrence said about the transition from college to professional basketball. “I was fortunate enough to get invited to a college all-star event… A lot of WNBA coaches, agents, and GMs were there. That’s actually how I got connected to my agent.”
Lawrence began her professional career overseas, first playing for Peja 03 in Kosovo before continuing her career in France with C’Chartres Métropole Basket Féminin, before returning to North Carolina to join the UPSHOT League and play for the Charlotte Crown. She was initially recruited by the Savannah Steel when the league began building rosters.
“I realized there was going to be a Charlotte team, and I said, ‘I’m not going to play anywhere else but Charlotte.’ I have a pretty decent fan base here, and my family is closer to Charlotte than Savannah,” Lawrence said. “I just wanted to be somewhere my family could come watch and somewhere I’m familiar with.”
The Crown are, of course, not the first women’s professional basketball team to call the Queen City home, as the Charlotte Sting — one of the WNBA’s original eight franchises, founded in 1997 and disbanded in 2007 — still holds a special place in the memories of many longtime Charlotte residents. Original Sting stars Andrea Stinson and Rhonda Mapp have supported the Crown and were in attendance at the team’s inaugural home opener.
Charlotte Sting legends Andrea Stinson and Rhonda Mapp with the opening ball ceremony as women’s professional basketball returns to the city for the first time since 2006 with the Charlotte Crown against the Jacksonville Waves. 👑 pic.twitter.com/Ybb5mJq3pb
— CLTure® ( culture ) (@CLTure) May 21, 2026
The growing popularity of women’s basketball has helped the UPSHOT League generate interest across the region, as evidenced by its sold-out home opener and the recent expansion of the WNBA, which awarded new franchises to Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia.
In early 2025, Charlotte submitted a bid to revive the Sting, led by Erica Berman and the Berman family with support from the Hornets, but the city was not selected as one of the expansion teams announced through 2030.
The UPSHOT League is hoping to build on that momentum by bringing professional women’s basketball to markets without WNBA teams, expanding opportunities and more visible pathways into the sport.
With the women’s game continuing to grow, Lawrence offered some sound advice to girls hoping to follow a similar path to professional basketball.
There’s a thousand ways to the top of the mountain, but there’s only one view. No matter how you get to the top of the mountain, just be true to who you are. Never compare your journey or yourself to anyone else,” she said. “Stay the course and believe in yourself because through college, through high school, you’re going to go through trials. Never be afraid of the work and show up no matter what you’re going through.”
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The players on the inaugural Charlotte Crown roster are doing exactly that, with many from the region, like Lawrence, getting the opportunity to compete in front of family and friends while continuing to pursue their professional hoop dreams.
Check out the 2026 schedule for the Charlotte Crown of the UPSHOT League.
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