DAVIS, Calif. — The UC Davis women's basketball program continued to ascend to new heights on Monday, as Head Coach Jennifer Gross announced the addition of 6-foot-6 transfer Lena Svanholm from Colorado State.

"We are so excited to welcome Lena to our UC Davis family," Gross said. "Lena is a very unique player who can run the floor, score inside and shoot the three. Her combination of size and versatility makes her an extremely difficult match-up and we cannot wait to start coaching her.

"She is going to add a new dimension to our team and will be a presence on both ends of the floor. In addition, Lena is a wonderful person as well as a very strong student. She is a tremendous fit here at UC Davis and will definitely help us carry on our tradition of success."

Svanholm, a native Horsholm, Denmark, must sit out the 2019-20 season due to NCAA transfer rules, but will have two seasons of eligibility remaining with the Aggies beginning with the 2020-21 campaign after spending her first two years in Fort Collins, Colo., with the Rams.

She adds to a rather "long" UC Davis front court, which now boasts three signees listed at 6-foot-3 or taller, joining incoming freshmen Megan Jones (6-foot-3) from Ayr, Scotland, and Kenedy Lilly (6-foot-5) from Yorba Linda, Calif., and augments a front line of current Aggies Sage Stobbart, who stands 6-foot-4, and Emma Gibb, who is 6-foot-2.

After appearing in only 16 games as a freshman, Svanholm played all 30 games for Colorado State as a sophomore in 2018-19, averaging 5.5 points and 2.7 rebounds per game in just over 15 minutes per contest. Finishing second on the team with 26 blocks, Svanholm shot .412 from the floor for the year, scoring a season high 14 points to go with seven rebounds in the Rams' season opener against Eastern New Mexico.

The two-time Mountain West Conference Scholar-Athlete added six other games with 10-or-more points and blocked a season-high five shots against Nevada on Jan. 23.

Aside from her Division I experience, Svanholm arrived in the United States already a seasoned veteran of international play, competing as a member of Denmark's various age-group squads. This past summer, Svanholm competed with the Danish U20 squad at the 2018 FIBA Women's European Championships in Romania, averaging 16.1 ppg and 11.1 rpg — ranked No. 6 and No. 2, respectively, in the tournament — while scoring a tournament high 24 points against Belarus and collecting three double-doubles, including a 20-point, 19-rebound, outing against Iceland.

Named the Danish Women's League Talent of the Year in 2017, Svanholm averaged 19.9 ppg and 10.9 rpg over seven contests at the 2016 FIBA U18 Women's European Championships, posting four double-doubles in that span — including a 27-point, 19 rebound, performance against Bulgaria. She also added a 33-point night on 12-of-15 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the line in only 16 minutes against Albania in that same tournament — one of six 20-plus point performances in international competition in her career.

Svanholm averaged 13.6 ppg and 6.4 rpg for Denmark's U18 team in 2015, and averaged 13.6 ppg and 8.2 rpg for the U16 squad in 2014.

2018-19 UC DAVIS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SIGNEES
Name (Height, Position, Hometown / Previous School, Club Team)
Campbell Gray (5-10, Guard, Tigard, Ore. / Tigard HS, Oregon Elite)*
Megan Jones (6-3, Forward, Ayr, Scotland / Charnwood College, Leicester Riders)*
Kenedy Lilly (6-5, Center, Yorba Linda, Calif. / El Dorado HS '19, West Coast Premier)*
Lena Svanholm (6-6, Wing/Forward, Horsholm, Denmark / Rungsted Gymnasium / Colorado State)**
Evanne Turner (5-9, Guard, Fontana, Calif. / Etiwanda HS, West Coast Premier)*

* denotes previously announced signee
** must sit out the 2019-20 season due to NCAA transfer rules

ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.

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