Girls Basketball: Pequot's Lane commits to UND

As Olivia Lane enters her junior year of high school, her future path will already be paved.

Lane, a 6-foot-1 post player for the Pequot Lakes Patriots, verbally committed to play basketball at the University of North Dakota. That won't happen for two years, but it's one less decision Lane will have to worry about for the future.

"With Division I, a lot of (high school) juniors commit early on because (schools are) looking at a lot of different players," said Lane. "I just loved everything about UND and I felt it was a perfect fit for me so that's why I committed early."

Lane went on a visit to the Grand Forks campus this spring. She said a feeling of home overcame her.

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Olivia Lane

• Year: Junior
• Sport: Basketball
• Position: Post
• High School: Pequot Lakes
• What's new: Verbally committed to play basketball for the University of North Dakota

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"I just loved everything about it," said Lane. "There was just nothing I didn't love about it. UND gave me the feeling of home. The coaches made me feel at home. The team was like a huge family. The atmosphere is everything and the facilities are super nice. I love the campus. Plus, the location is super nice, too, because it's super close to home."

Prior to her decision, Lane visited two other schools. Her and her father's mailbox and email inbox saw a flurry of activity as well.

"That gave me a lot of pride," said Lane. "I was very excited about that."

Unlike her older sister Vanessa, who is a member of the South Dakota State University track and field team, basketball was the sport Lane saw her future in. This despite being a three-time state champion, six time all-state competitor and a nine time All-Mid-State Conference performer for the Pequot Lakes girls team. It's always been basketball first for Lane.

"This is a dream come true for me," said Lane. "I've always wanted to play basketball and I'm just super excited to play at UND. It's always been basketball for me."

The three-year starter and two-year All-Mid-State Conference selection already surpassed 1,000 career points and is closing in on the school's all-time scoring mark held by Emily Lueck at 2,174 career points. She holds the school's single-game scoring mark at 44 points.

This spring, Lane is playing for the Central Lakes Thunder, who won the United States Amature State Championship and was invited to compete at nationals.

"My biggest goal is to improve weaknesses," said Lane. "I just want to do the best I can do and improve myself a lot. I think I've improved most with my 15-foot range and that kind of shooting and driving it in more. With my dribbling skills that's improved, but it will need to improve more."

Lane said Pequot will have a young team next year with a lot of young, strong talent moving up the ranks. She said the team will be more versatile and diverse, which should help relieve some of the defensive pressure that will be focused toward Lane the next two years.

One thing Lane won't have to stress about is what her future holds.

"It takes off a lot of pressure," Lane said. "I know I'll be going there and now I can just concentrate on my basketball skills and get ready for a couple of years and go play at UND.

"They see me playing as a forward so I know I can improve on my outside shooting so I can be a threat from the inside and outside. I also can improve my left hand-just skills. When I talked to the coach, I liked what he said. He said you can't teach aggression or heart, but you can teach skills so I can work on a bunch of different skills."