Matt Roseby; 18th April
A Melbourne local, Lana earned a scholarship at Boston College, a member of the renowned Atlantic Coast Conference of NCAA Division 1 after being named to the Victorian State team twice before donning the Australian National Team jersey at the 3x3 World Championships in 2017 as an 18-year-old.
After early success in Boston, she transferred to Santa Clara University at the end of her freshman year (also a Division 1 program). She played an increasingly major role for the Broncos, helping them make a deep conference final run in her senior year. Having amassed a wealth of experience, culminating in her captaincy as a Santa Clara University senior, Lana hopes to capitalise on her knowledge and mental adeptness as a leader for the Winged Victory.
“I think going to America taught me more than I could put into words … my freshman year taught me a lot of resilience, and my three years at Santa Clara helped me develop my leadership skills”.
Since returning home, the Bachelor of Science graduate and current Master of Public Health student signed as a development player for the Southside Flyers of the WNBL. The Flyers took the Townsville Fire to the Championship deciding third game before bowing out in a nail-biting championship series. Alongside her WNBL role, Lana competes for the Keilor Thunder of NBL1’s South Conference.
Head Coach Keith Noack did not hide his excitement at Lana joining the squad, confident that her presence on the court would “give us some added scoring firepower.” Melbourne has already shown their defensive skills this season, boasting the lowest total points allowed across any teams currently positioned to make finals. Adding Hollingsworth’s sharpshooting may be the offensive coupling that elevates the team to championship favourites.
The aspiring physician is looking forward to medical school but is acutely aware of the unique challenges of balancing her sport with a medical career. However, Lana believes her basketball career has left her well-positioned to endure any adversities she may face;
“Getting into medicine is hard, and I’m not there yet, but I hope to be soon. With that comes a lot of failures and rejection, but basketball has made sure I know how to recover from that feeling, and I think that helps me know that I will be able to persevere through the long journey of getting into and completing medical school”.
Hollingsworth debuts on Wednesday, 19 April, when the University of Melbourne takes on ACU, with tip-off at 1 pm and 3 pm for our men’s and women’s squads, respectively.
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