Stony Brook forward India Pagan scores a layup against the...

Stony Brook forward India Pagan scores a layup against the UMass Lowell River Hawks during the second half of an America East women's basketball semifinal at Federal Credit Arena on March 7. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke

It’ll be another first for India Pagan.

The Stony Brook grad student, who was part of the school’s first ever America East women’s basketball championship team in 2020, will play for Puerto Rico in the Olympics, beginning later this month in Tokyo. Puerto Rico qualified for the games after taking home a silver medal in the FIBA AmeriCup in June.

Pagan, a forward, is the first active Stony Brook University student to become an Olympian, and third among those who once donned school colors, according to a release on the school’s website. 2012 graduate Lucy Van Dalen ran the 5,000 meters for New Zealand in the 2012 London games and 1994 graduate Roger Gill sprinted for Guyana at the 1996 games in Atlanta.

"I really have no words," Pagan said in the release. "I’ve been waiting for this moment for two years now and I’m super blessed and thankful to be able to call myself an Olympian."

Pagan averaged 2.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in 13 minutes during Puerto Rico’s AmeriCup run. Puerto Rico fell to team USA 74-59 in the final.

It will be the first Olympic appearance for the Puerto Rican women’s basketball team. They will play in Pool C, where they will face China, Australia, and Belgium.

A Connecticut native, Pagan averaged 5.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 17.9 minutes during Stony Brook’s run to the NCAA tournament last season. She became the 18th player in program history to reach 1,000 points.

Pagan will not be playing in front of fans when she gets to Tokyo. The city’s governor said Thursday that fans will be banned from Tokyo-area stadiums.

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