It was only a matter of time before Lauren found her way to the hardwood. The game was in the heart of her mother, who had spent time playing professionally overseas, and she eventually passed the game from her heart to the hands of her daughter. Lauren started out playing in the 3rd grade, and her beginning stages were played with boys as there were not any girls’ leagues at that time.

Lauren quickly fell in love with the game, and the desire to get better burned within her. Countless hours, weeks, months, and years of putting in work began to show dividends when she attended the Furman Elite Camp her 8th-grade year and walked away with her first official offer. It was at that moment that she started thinking that she could play at the next level.

Throughout the years, Lauren has leaned on the wisdom of her mom to help in her development mentally and physically. Mentally, her mom has taught her the importance of staying focused on her dreams and her day-to-day development. Physically, her mom taught her the fundamentals and has been an integral piece in the development of her offensive game, particularly her game off the bounce.

As I spent time with Lauren in preparation for this article, I asked her who she thought her game mirrored in the WNBA, and she quickly responded Jackie Young of the Las Vegas Aces. She began talking about Jackie and how she is an athletic guard, tough finisher at the rim, versatile, two-way player with three-level scoring ability, and those are attributes she identifies with when it comes to her game.

Lauren has won three state championships since her 8th-grade year, and she is staring down the possibility of graduating in a couple of years, having acquired five state championships. Some might say she could have just been on a team with talent, and she didn’t contribute, which is far from the truth as she has contributed on every single team. So, it is safe to gather that Lauren knows how to win. She understands that winning takes sacrifice; as common as it sounds, it takes working hard, staying in the gym and working outside team practice times, and staying together as a team.

Off the court, it’s a family affair with Lauren. She loves hanging out with her family, and family is the most important thing to her. So when she is not on the court getting buckets on offense and locking down a ball-handler on defense, she is somewhere kicking it with the fam.