PressBox recently chatted with Coppin State women’s basketball senior Laila Lawrence about transitioning from Division II to Division I, hosting LSU a year ago and more. The 6-foot-2 forward averaged 14.1 points and 10.7 rebounds and took home MEAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2023-24. Lawrence is a native of Lewisville, Texas, and graduate of Lewisville High School.
PressBox: How did you first become interested in basketball?
Laila Lawrence: I have a lot of boy cousins. I’m literally the only girl cousin, so just growing up I’ve always been around sports — either basketball or football. I’m a girl. I couldn’t play football. I just started playing basketball. I kind of just stuck with it ever since I was little.
PB: Who was the biggest influence on your game growing up?
LL: I would say my dad, [Frederick], for sure. He played basketball in high school, so I was growing up he would always be the one to practice with me, work out with me and stuff like that. My mom, she was a little pretty girl. She didn’t really like to do stuff like that. It was me and my dad.
PB: Why did you initially choose to go to Texas A&M University-Commerce?
LL: Around the time that I committed to go to Commerce, it was COVID year and originally I had more offers. But with fifth-years and seniors getting another year back, I lost a lot of offers due to [older players] being able to stay. I also didn’t want to go far, far away from home my very first year of college. I wanted my mom and my grandpa and my dad to be able to see me play. When I went on a visit to Commerce, I knew then. I was accepted by the team, the players. I knew right then … that I wanted to be there.
PB: Commerce shifted from Division II to Division I ahead of your sophomore season. What was that transition like?
LL: Going into my freshman year, Commerce was a top-three D-II school nationwide. At one point in time, we were the No. 1 D-II in the nation. Going into Commerce, it was a winning culture. We were winning my freshman year. It wasn’t a crazy transition going into D-I. Our nonconference was of course hard, but I feel like any level of college basketball shouldn’t be looked down [upon]. Every level of college is hard, regardless of if you’re D-I, D-II, D-III, NAIA. It’s going to be hard. It’s college basketball. It’s no longer high school basketball. Transitioning from D-II to D-I, it was more so the pace of the game. You’re playing more against people your size. … When we went to D-I, I was playing against someone my size each game and just making me better as a player overall.
PB: Why did you choose to transfer to Coppin State?
LL: I decided to come to Coppin State because when I entered the transfer portal I knew I just wanted to play for a coach who believed in me. I wanted to play on a team that would trust me, that also believed in me. My teammates believed in me. My coaches believed in me. I just wanted to be around a lot of people that I felt love from. My sophomore year, I kind of fell out of love with basketball. Going into my junior year I really didn’t know if I wanted to play basketball, but I knew if I was going to play basketball I wanted to be around people who loved me for me and [didn’t just see] me as an athlete and saw me as a person. When I first met [Coppin head coach Jermaine Woods], on the phone we talked. He genuinely cared for me as a person. He was asking me questions, not just basketball questions. He was asking me questions to actually get to know me. Coach Woods definitely played a big role in me coming to Coppin. When I came on a visit, I got to meet the girls. They were so nice, super family-oriented. They made me feel like I was already part of the team before I even committed.
PB: You earned 2023-24 MEAC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Where does your defensive intensity and skill-set come from?
LL: I’ve always been an offensive player, but I’ve always wanted to be a two-way player, not just a player that can score the ball and not play defense or play defense and not score the ball. Coming into my junior year, I just wanted to get better at something that I wasn’t good at. My freshman and sophomore years, I wasn’t really good at defense. I was almost a liability. Someone would always have to help me. I took my junior year as getting better at something I wasn’t good at. I worked hard. I practiced hard. My coaches trusted me. I trusted them. I wouldn’t have gotten it without them or my teammates.
PB: Do you consider yourself a rim protector or a versatile defender who can defend all five positions?
LL: I would kind of say a little bit of both — rim protector and a versatile defender. I feel like I can guard bigger posts. I can also guard shorter posts, but I’m always by the basketball. I protect the rim really well and I rebound the ball really, really well.
PB: Coppin hosted LSU last December. What was that like?
LL: It was actually a great feeling seeing the whole city of Baltimore come out and support us. Being able to play against pro players, as an HBCU you don’t really get the experience that power [conference schools] and high majors get. When we played against LSU, it was pretty much just making a name for yourself or taking the opportunity to be on a bigger stage and present that even though I do attend an HBCU, I’m just as good as the player that goes to power [conferences] and high majors and high mid-majors.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about Coppin?
LL: I would probably say the campus life. I came from a school that was a smaller institution. The teachers care about you. It’s really kind of hard to fail at Coppin because the professors want you to be a better person. They won’t allow you to fail. Everybody knows everybody, so we’re all just one big happy family. Walking through the campus, everyone is speaking to each other. Even if you don’t know them, they may know you. You might inspire them. You might be a role model to one person. It just feels good being close with your peers on campus and not just feeling like you are a nobody on campus. I feel like at bigger universities, it’s really athletes vs. other people. But here at Coppin, nobody makes anybody feel like any less of a person here.
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
LL: I wouldn’t say I have a best friend on the team. I feel like I’m pretty close with everyone on the team equally. But I will say if I would have to pick I would say Niyah Gaston. We kind of act alike. We kind of enjoy doing the same things. We both came in the same year. She’s a sophomore year. We just took each other under each other’s wings. If I need anything, if she needs anything, we know we can call each other. She knows how to get me out of my moods. I know how to get her out of her moods.
PB: Who did you look up to early in your college career?
LL: I would say my old teammate Dyani Robinson. She worked hard every single day. No matter what was thrown her way, she came into practice and she worked hard every single day. She was succeeding on the floor. I wanted to play my freshman year. She played her freshman year and she did really well her freshman year as well. I wanted to achieve the same goals that she achieved, so if I ever needed help with anything I knew I could call her. She was my best friend on the court and off the court. I wasn’t afraid to ask her anything. If I needed help, she was there to help me. If I needed anything, she was there. She was just a great person on and off the court.
PB: What advice would you give to younger players?
LL: I would just say to keep God first and trust the process. Your journey may be different from someone else’s. Never give up. What’s for you is going to come to you. Don’t try to compare your journey to someone else’s. … First, believe in yourself. You’re not going to get anywhere if you don’t believe in yourself. You’re not going to accomplish anything if you don’t believe in yourself. Self-confidence is something that I would push to kids that are down about themselves, about not going to a high major or a power [conference] or something like that. Just trust yourself, believe in yourself and keep God first.
PB: What are your goals for after college?
LL: This is my final year of college. I do want to play overseas. I want to be a professional overseas basketball player.
Photo Credit: Tim Rice/TagTheShooter Photography
Issue 289: October/November 2024
Originally published Oct. 16, 2024