Laura Ashley Harper (born April 11, 1986) is an American basketball coach and former player who is currently the head women's basketball coach at

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

. She played professionally with the

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena. The Mona ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

High school

Harper played for

Cheltenham High School Cheltenham High School is a public high school in the Wyncote neighborhood of Cheltenham Township, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, located from the border of the City of Philadelphia and from Center City. Serving grades 9 through 12, Chelt ...

Wyncote, Pennsylvania Wyncote is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It borders the northwestern and northeastern section of Philadelphia. Wyncote is located 11 miles from Center City Philadelphia at the southeaster ...

, where she was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2004 WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored nine points.

College

Laura Harper played college basketball at the University of Maryland and was part of the 2006 National Championship team. She tore her Achilles tendon during her freshman year, but battled back to become the Most Outstanding Player of the 2006 NCAA tournament. As she is a beloved Terrapin, Harper's No. 15 jersey hangs in the rafters at the Xfinity Center.

College statistics

Source:

Professional playing career

Harper was selected in the first round of the

2008 WNBA draft The WNBA draft is the league's annual process for determining which Women's National Basketball Association teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The 2008 draft was held on April 9. A lottery was held on Octobe ...

, tenth overall, by the

. As a rookie, she played 34 games and made one start. She averaged 5.5 points and 4.0 rebounds. After the WNBA season ended, she signed with Beşiktaş of the

Turkish Women's Basketball League The Women's Basketball Super League ( tr, Kadınlar Basketbol Süper Ligi, KBSL), also known as the Herbalife Nutrition Women's Basketball Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the top women's professional basketball division of the Turkish wo ...

. She averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds in 10 games played with Beşiktaş. In 2009, Harper returned to the Monarchs and started 11 of 33 games played. She averaged 4.5 points and 3.4 rebounds. After the WNBA season, she signed with

Umana Reyer Venezia S.S.P. Reyer Venezia Mestre, commonly known as Reyer Venezia or simply Reyer, is an Italian professional basketball club that is based in Venice, Veneto. The club currently plays in the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the highest tier of basketball in ...

of the Italian Serie A1. In 16 games with Venezia, she averaged 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds. Due to injuries, Harper sat out the 2010 and 2011 WNBA seasons. She returned to action later in 2011, again in Europe, with

Antakya Antakya (), historically known as Antioch ( el, Ἀντιόχεια; hy, Անտիոք, Andiok), is the capital of Hatay Province, the southernmost province of Turkey. The city is located in a well-watered and fertile valley on the Orontes Rive ...

of the Turkish league, averaging 13.3 points and 9.9 rebounds. Harper played her final season of professional basketball in 2012–13 with

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...

of the

Russian Women's Basketball Premier League The Russian Women's Basketball Premier League is the premier women's basketball competition in Russia. The category consists of 11 teams playing a total of 20 rounds. At the end of the regular season the top eight teams play the play-offs througho ...

. In 12 games, she averaged 7.3 points and 8.3 rebounds.

International career

Harper was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. The event was held in August 2004, when the USA team defeated Puerto Rico to win the championship. Harper started all five games and helped the team win the gold medal, scoring 12.8 points per game.

Coaching career

In May 2013, Harper became an assistant coach at American University. She left American to become an assistant at

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is the ninth-oldest Jesuit college in th ...

in September 2013. Harper moved to North Carolina to become an assistant coach at

High Point University High Point University is a private university in High Point, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The university was founded as High Point College in 1924, and it became High Point University in October 1991. HPU of ...

in June 2014. Following High Point, Harper served as an assistant coach for a season at George Washington University before coaching for two seasons at University of Florida. She left Florida after the 2018–19 season to become the head coach at Montverde Academy on June 29, 2019.

Coppin State

On July 20, 2020, Harper was announced as the new head women's basketball coach at

Coppin State University Coppin State University (Coppin) is a public historically black university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland and a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. In terms of demographics, the Coppin State s ...

Towson University

On April 20, 2022, Towson University announced Harper as the new head coach of their women's basketball team.Laura Harper named women's basketball head coach
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Head coaching record

Personal life

Harper's father Haviland Harper, Jr. played basketball at

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

and is currently a high school basketball coach and math teacher. Haviland Harper's great-uncle,

David "Big Dave" DeJernett David "Big Dave" DeJernett (February 22, 1912 – August 4, 1964) was a pioneer of integration in early basketball in the United States. He is best known for leading the integrated Washington Hatchets to the Indiana state title as a high school ...

, was a pioneering Afro-American basketball star at both pro and amateur levels in the Midwest.

Notes

External links

WNBA Player ProfileMaryland Terrapins bioCoppin State bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Laura 1986 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Russia American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American women's basketball coaches American women's basketball players Basketball players from Philadelphia Beşiktaş women's basketball players Centers (basketball) High Point Panthers women's basketball coaches Loyola Greyhounds women's basketball coaches Maryland Terrapins women's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) People from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Power forwards (basketball) Sacramento Monarchs players San Antonio Stars players Towson Tigers women's basketball coaches Coppin State Eagles women's basketball coaches