FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (June 24, 2024) – Northern Arizona University head women's basketball coach
Loree Payne has announced the addition of Talo Li-Uperesa to the 2024-25 roster. Li-Uperesa is a 5-11 forward from San Francisco, Calif., and heads to Flagstaff after one season at CSUN.
"We are so excited to have Talo officially join our Lumberjack family. She is a very skilled and athletic player with veteran experience. Her athleticism and versatility will give us a lot of depth at our wing position," said Payne. "We are looking forward to finally having the whole squad together this summer to begin our pursuit of a Big Sky championship."
As a redshirt-junior at CSUN, Li-Uperesa started 28 of the 30 games she played in. She averaged 7.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, adding 30.9 minutes per game. Li-Uperesa led the team and ranked fourth in the Big West Conference in blocks with 33 total and ranked second with 149 total rebounds. Her season-high 18 points came in a game against Hawai'i, and she also led the Matadors in field goal percentage, knocking down 42.7 percent of her attempts (85-199) from the field. During the 2023-24 season, she compiled 32 assists and 39 steals while making 10 three-pointers.
Before CSUN, Li-Uperesa began her career at Cal State East Bay where she redshirted a season before moving on to the City College of San Francisco where she played for two seasons. She was a two-time Coast Conference North Division MVP and led the league with 20.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in 29 games played. The Rams have won seven-straight Coast Conference North Division titles and with Li-Uperesa's assistance, advanced to the third round of the 2023 CCCAA Round 3 of the Northern California Regional Playoffs.
Li-Uperesa graduated from Sacred Heart Cathedral High School in 2019. She was named the 2018 SF Gate San Francisco Regional Player of the Year after leading the team to the Northern California Division I Championship, finishing runner-up. During her prep career, she was named to the first team All-West Catholic Athletic League, first team All-League, second team All-League and SF Examiner honorable mention All-City.
In addition to Li-Uperesa, the Lumberjacks welcomed true freshman Faith Curry to round out the 2024-25 roster. Northern Arizona lost just two players to graduation and return 11 players from a squad who set a single-season wins record with 25 and advanced to the program's second-straight WNIT.
