KONYA, TURKEY– Anderson University women's basketball standout Lexy Mollenhauer recently competed in the fifth-edition Islamic Solidarity Games for the Republic of Azerbaijan (dual citizenship), winning the gold medal for Basketball 3-on-3 competition for a second time.

The Islamic Solidarity Games is a multinational, multi-sport event which involves the elite athletes of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF) is the organization that is responsible for the direction and control of the 10-day event. The fifth-edition of the games, brought together 54 countries and 4,200 athletes of the ISSF with this year's event taking place in Konya, Turkey.

Mollenhauer and her teammates, Tiffany Hayes, Dina Ulyanova and Tanya Deniskina competed against teams from Qatar, Uzbekistan and Mali with Azerbaijan defeating Mali, 21-6, in the gold medal game. Mollenhauer contributed four, three-point baskets to help win the gold.

"It's always an honor to play for Azerbaijan and represent their national team," said Mollenhauer. "I am very thankful we were able to bring home gold!"

In 2017, Mollenhauer competed in the fourth-edition that took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, with her team also defeating Mail 13 – 7 for the gold. The fifth-edition games were originally scheduled to play in August of 2021, but were postponed to this summer due to CoVID-19.

With the 2022 victory, Azerbaijan will earn valuable Fiba points, which are needed to possibly qualify for the Olympics 3-on-3 competition.

Following her stellar collegiate career with the Black and Gold, Mollenhauer is entering her third year in the professional ranks, beginning her first season in Spain on the DI-Level. The season is set to begin in a couple of weeks.

"Thank you for all the support from the Anderson community," added Mollenhauer. "I am looking forward to keeping up with Trojan athletics this year. GO TROJANS!!"