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Texas POTY, Indiana transfer LaMendola signs with GCU
4/15/2025 7:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball
6-1 guard brings Big Ten experience with prolific high school resume
Grand Canyon head coach Winston Gandy signed his first player for the 2025-26 season in Julianna LaMendola, a top-60 recruit via ESPN Hoopgurlz in 2023 with Big Ten playing experience at Indiana.
A graduate of Coppell (Texas) High School near Dallas, LaMendola enters the upcoming season as a junior with two years of eligibility remaining.
LaMendola, a 6-foot-1 guard, spent her past two seasons at Indiana, appearing in 60 of 65 games with five starts. The Hoosiers made two NCAA Tournament appearances in that span, with LaMendola playing in the Sweet 16 versus South Carolina, a team that won the 2023 national championship with Gandy on its staff.
LaMendola gathered more than 50Â rebounds in each season at Indiana and made 35% of her 3-point shots last season. In five starts in 2024-25, LaMendola put up some of her best numbers with 5.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest, including a six-point, 11-rebound performance against eventual Sweet 16 team North Carolina.
LaMendola entered Indiana as one of the best high school players in Texas, ranking No. 52 nationally via ESPN's Hoopgurlz rankings (fourth in Texas), No. 41 by All Star Girls Report and No. 81 by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.
At Coppell, LaMendola averaged 17.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals as a senior en route to being named 2023 Texas Gatorade Player of the Year, 2022-23 MaxPreps Texas High School Girls Basketball Player of the Year, co-Most Valuable Player of District 6-6A and was a McDonald's All-American nominee.
LaMendola led Coppell to a 38-4 record and a state championship title, the first for the school in 11 years. A year prior, she helped lead the team to the school's best all-time record of 37-2 and earned District MVP, Texas Girls Coaches Association All-State and was named program MVP, Offensive MVP and Most Improved Player.
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A graduate of Coppell (Texas) High School near Dallas, LaMendola enters the upcoming season as a junior with two years of eligibility remaining.
LaMendola, a 6-foot-1 guard, spent her past two seasons at Indiana, appearing in 60 of 65 games with five starts. The Hoosiers made two NCAA Tournament appearances in that span, with LaMendola playing in the Sweet 16 versus South Carolina, a team that won the 2023 national championship with Gandy on its staff.
LaMendola gathered more than 50Â rebounds in each season at Indiana and made 35% of her 3-point shots last season. In five starts in 2024-25, LaMendola put up some of her best numbers with 5.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest, including a six-point, 11-rebound performance against eventual Sweet 16 team North Carolina.
LaMendola entered Indiana as one of the best high school players in Texas, ranking No. 52 nationally via ESPN's Hoopgurlz rankings (fourth in Texas), No. 41 by All Star Girls Report and No. 81 by Collegiate Girls Basketball Report.
At Coppell, LaMendola averaged 17.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals as a senior en route to being named 2023 Texas Gatorade Player of the Year, 2022-23 MaxPreps Texas High School Girls Basketball Player of the Year, co-Most Valuable Player of District 6-6A and was a McDonald's All-American nominee.
LaMendola led Coppell to a 38-4 record and a state championship title, the first for the school in 11 years. A year prior, she helped lead the team to the school's best all-time record of 37-2 and earned District MVP, Texas Girls Coaches Association All-State and was named program MVP, Offensive MVP and Most Improved Player.
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