HIALEAH, Fla. (July 10, 2023) – Florida National University’s women’s basketball standout Natalie Larranaga once again donned her country’s colors, this time at the Central American and Caribbean Games, as a member of Guatemala’s 3×3 and 5×5 team.
“Representing your country is one of the greatest points of pride an athlete can have,” Head Coach Yahveh Silva said. “We are so proud of Natalie for her participation in the Central American and Caribbean Games.”
The last time the Continental Athletic Conference’s (CAC) 2022-2023 Defensive Player of the Year played for Guatemala was in July of 2022 at the Confederación Centroamericana de Baloncesto (COBA) Women’s Championship with the senior team. Larranaga averaged 7.2 points and 2.5 assists in five appearances for Guatemala and looked prime to make an even bigger splash at the Central American and Caribbean Games, a multi-sport regional championship typically held between the Summer and Winter Olympics.
Larranaga had a breakout sophomore season in 2023 and put the rest of the NAIA on notice. She averaged a team-high 18.7 points per game, shooting 52% from the field. Larranaga was relentless on the defensive end, nabbing 6.7 rebounds a contest and averaging just over three steals in 19 appearances.
This year’s games were held in El Salvador from June 23 to July 8 with the 2026 competition set to take place in the Dominican Republic.
