India's Sanjana Ramesh set to play for Northern Arizona University's basketball team in 2019-20 NCAA season

Flagstaff: India’s Sanjana Ramesh has been selected for the Northern Arizona University’s basketball program ahead of 2019-20 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) season. [caption id=“attachment_5558861” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sanjana Ramesh.[/caption] Head coach Loree Payne announced Sanjana and Emily Rodabaugh as the newest Lumberjacks after the pair signed their National Letters of Intent. Both Ramesh and Rodabaugh will be incoming freshmen for next season. “With only two scholarships, we had to get two impact players and we did,” Payne said. “We got two players who have the potential to impact our program right away. Both fit our style of play, can get up and down the floor and are very versatile. They can play on the perimeter and can play on the inside. We pride ourselves on player development, and there is no ceiling to how great these two players can be.” Sanjana’s signing is monumental not only for the Lumberjacks, but for her entire country as she becomes just the second Indian-born female player to receive a Division I basketball scholarship. Sanjana, a 6-0 forward, will head to NAU with phenomenal international accolades in her home country. In 2017, Sanjana captained India’s U16 team in FIBA’s U16 Asia Cup. There, the team went undefeated in Division B and won promotion to Division A for the next edition of the tournament. She averaged 6.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game during the tournament and then proceeded to play for India in the 2018 William Jones Cup held in Taiwan. Sanjana, with numerous experiences on the state, national and international level, also participated in The NBA Academies Women’s Program camp in May at The NBA Academy India in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), where she received on- and off-court training alongside top female prospects from throughout India. Following the NBA Academies Women’s Program camp, Sanjana was then named the MVP of the girls division at Basketball Without Borders Asia, a three-day basketball development camp featuring the top male and female basketball prospects from throughout Asia. “Sanjana is an athlete who has international and national experience in India,” Payne said. “We’re trying to get our foot in the door in the international recruiting scene and for us, Sanjana is everything we’re looking for. She’s a joyful kid and very thankful for the opportunity to come here and she’s going to be a heck of a player. Her potential is limitless,” Payne added.