Delaware's 2023 Athlete of the Year is diminutive guard who is also a college hoops giant

Despite standing just 5-foot-3, Lauren Park-Lane has long been a giant on the basketball court.

Last year, she towered over every athlete from the state of Delaware.

The Sanford School graduate and Wilmington resident was named 2023 state Athlete of the Year by the Delaware Sportswriters and Broadcasters Association at its annual awards luncheon at Riverfront Events Monday.

With Park-Lane busy playing her final college basketball season and first at Mississippi State, the John J. Brady Award was accepted on her behalf by her mother Darice Lane.

In a video thanking the DSBA for the award, Park-Lane said that "Growing up in Delaware and being small, I've always been overlooked. But winning this award has shown that none of that even matters. Representing my state in this way is such an honor."

She is the 75th recipient of the Brady Award, presented annually since 1949. Park-Lane is the fifth women’s basketball player to be honored, joining Betnijah Laney (2021), Tyresa Smith (2007), Val Whiting (1991) and lone four-time recipient Elena Delle Donne (2008, 2010, 2012 and 2019).

That gave Park-Lane two things to celebrate Monday, which was her 23^rd birthday.

“I’m excited to get the award,” Park-Lane told Delaware Online/The News Journal before a recent practice. “It means a lot. Elena won it and she’s a Delaware GOAT [greatest of all-time] to me.”

The DSBA also honored its 2023 state Team of the Year, the DIAA champion Smyrna High girls volleyball squad; Tubby Raymond Coach of the Year winner Aaron Lewis, who skippered the state-title winning Delaware Military Academy baseball team; Buddy Hurlock Unsung Hero Award recipient Anthony Papiro, a visually impaired cross country runner from Dickinson High; and Herm Reitzes Award for Public Service recipient Jack Agnew, the long-time Midway Little League volunteer.

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Wilmington was perfect proving ground

Growing up on 36^th Street near the Police Athletic League facility in north Wilmington, Park-Lane could frequently be found on basketball courts there, the Brown Boys and Girls Club and at nearby parks, playgrounds and school gyms.

She is proud of those roots and feels they help her sprout into the player she has become.

Park-Lane and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark are two of just seven players in NCAA women’s basketball history with more than 2,000 points and 800 assists in their careers. Her 2,155 career points ranks eight among active players and her 863 career assists are second.

“I was often playing against boys and that helped me out a lot,” she said. “Just the underdog mentality that you gain being from Wilmington. I feel like that’s carried me a lot.”

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Size spurred determination

Then as now, Park-Lane has regularly been the smallest player on the floor, giving her extra determination to succeed.

“Just having people doubting me in life,” she said, “because I was so small, they might short-change some of the things I would be able to do, sometimes because they didn’t want me to get my hopes up so much.

“Just being able to overcome those things and go out and play the game that I love, because I love basketball, that drove me.”

She relies on smarts, quickness and versatility -- delivering a quick pass to the right place but also getting the ball in the basket herself. That includes driving for the winning bucket with 3.6 seconds left to give Sanford a 51-49 victory over Caravel in the state championship game her senior year, when she was Delaware High School Player of the Year.

Stellar Seton Hall stint

A five-year starter in high school, Park-Lane was first-team All-State her sophomore, junior and senior seasons after being second-team All-State as a freshman and an honorable mention choice in 8^th grade.

At Seton Hall from 2019-23, Park-Lane became one the best players in school history. She started all 120 games in which she played, dealing a school record 168 assists and scoring 1,905 career points, second all-time at Seton Hall.

A three-time first-team All-Big East selection, Park-Lane led the nation in assists in 2021-22. She had 18 in a 2022 game against Butler. Park-Lane also averaged 20.8 points per game her final Seton Hall season.

After graduating last spring with a degree in social and behavioral sciences, Park-Lane transferred to Mississippi State for her final year (the 2020-21 season didn’t count against players’ eligibility due to COVID-19, the NCAA ruled). She is pursuing a master’s degree in fashion merchandising.

First NCAA trip awaits at Mississippi State

Her 2023-24 season has been highlighted by the school-record 10 3-pointers Park-Lane made on 17 shots in a Dec. 20 win at Colorado State while finishing with 33 points. It was her 13^th career game scoring 30 or more, topped by 39 in a 2023 against DePaul.

Park-Lane leads the SEC and is ninth nationally with 165 assists. The Bulldogs, who recently beat defending NCAA champ LSU, are 20-7 heading into their next game Thursday against Kentucky.

“The SEC is the best conference in the country and I just wanted to prove I could play at this level and I feel I’m doing that right now,” she said.

Park-Lane will relish closing the season with what she promises to be “a really big push into March” for her first NCAA Tournament, which will certainly include Mississippi State. Post-collegiate possibilities include playing professionally, eventually coaching and designing her own clothing brand, as she has already marketed some fashions on her Instagram page.

“I’m just excited to see what it all leads to,” she said.

Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Lauren Park-Lane of Sanford, Mississippi State is top Delaware athlete