High School, College and Olympic Career
A local sports heroine (a city parkway is named after her), Lacy led Chattanooga's Brainerd High School to the state championship in 1984.
Venus Lacy attended Louisiana Tech University, which she led to the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship in 1988. The next year, the Lady Techsters made the 1989 Final Four, but lost there to Auburn. In her Senior year, 1990, Louisiana Tech went undefeated through the regular season, and was ranked #1 in the national polls. That year Lacy she was a consensus all-American, and was named the women's college Player of the Year. The 1990 team again made the Final Four, where they were once again upset by their nemesis Auburn. Lacy finished her NCAA career with 266 points scored in the tournament, putting her among the all-time top 10 women at the time.
Lacy was also a member of the gold-medal-winning 1996 Olympic team. Lacy was the last player added to the USA's 12-woman roster, joining the team midway through its year-long exhibition tour to add size in the paint. The team went an undefeated 52-0 in this unprecedented Olympic preparation year, against a variety of college, all-star and international teams.
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