Interview with the leading scorer in Women's basketball history at SWCC, Liyah French

Question 1: what made you want to continue your career with swcc?

1: Southwest felt like the right decision from the moment coach reached out. It felt like home to me, I was welcomed with open arms and given an opportunity to continue my career while pursuing my degree in Engineering.

Question 2: what accomplishment are you most proud of?

2: The accomplishment I am most proud of is finding out I finished 2nd in the entire nation in made three pointers. To know I was ranked on a national level in some aspect is a huge accomplishment and a compliment to the dedication and work I put into the game of basketball.

Question 3: are you planning on continuing your career at a 4-year school? If so where?

3: I am continuing my education at Old Dominion University, but I will not be continuing my basketball career. Unfortunately, I was given the ultimatum of choosing my education and major or choosing to play basketball and change my major to something that was offered at those school of interest. I decided to continue on the path of engineering since that will impact my future the most.

Question 4: what is your secret to success?

4: My secret to success is never taking anything for granted, and working as hard as I could when given the opportunity. Going through what could be a career ending injury such as a torn ACL teaches you to never take anything for granted because it could be your last time ever playing the sport you love. That is what taught me to work as hard as I could so I had no regrets in the end and that is what made me successful in my career.

Question 5: what are some words of wisdom you would give to someone wanting to play in college?

5: if you want to play in college, believe in yourself until you get there and work as hard as you can to make sure you get there. The only person that can make it happen is yourself, and you can go a long way when you believe in yourself and put in the work.

Question 6: what is your favorite memory from your time with the Flying Eagles?

6: My favorite memory from my time with the flying eagles is playing card games in the hotel room before we all go to bed. The neighboring rooms probably thought “these obnoxious girls aren’t ever going to shut up and go to bed”. We filled the whole hotel up with laughter. The memories and lifelong friendships that are made beat everything else in an experience like this. Those girls and coaches are my family, and I wouldn’t trade that for anything else in this world.