Catching up with Leah Scott

Before she was an All-Conference USA selection or a member of the Marshall University women’s basketball team, Leah Scott started her collegiate basketball career at Central Michigan University in 2011.
After limited playing time during her one year at Central Michigan, the six-foot guard transferred to Iowa Western Community College where she earned a National Junior College All-America second team selection. At IWCC, she played in 30 games where she posted a career-high 23 points.
Scott made her way to Marshall in 2013 where she led the Herd with 11.7 points off 4.0 field goals per contest, most-made free throws and produced double-digit scoring in 18 of 29 games played.
Last season, Scott started every game and averaged 15.4 points per game. She was named to the All-Conference USA Second team, Conference USA Player of the Week twice, and MVP of the URI Tip Off.
In her final year as a student-athlete at Marshall, Scott said she wants to leave behind a legacy.
“I want them to feel like I was a good leader, a good player and a good people person,” Scott said. “I want people saying, ‘Oh I wish I could’ve played with Leah,’ you know, a good teammate. And I just want to leave positive feelings once I leave Marshall.”

“I want them to feel like I was a good leader, a good player and a good people person.”

— Leah Scott


As the team begins approaching the start of the new season, Scott said the team is preparing to be one of the best teams in Marshall women’s basketball history by adhering to the motto head coach Matt Daniel has integrated in the team.
Scott said Daniel has emphasized a team-centric attitude and created a culture within the program that has lifted it to its current standing.
“Coach Daniel has this saying, ‘Team first wins’,” Scott said. “Basically saying that we’re a team. We put each other first and win. So it’s really just about us pushing each other and making sure that everybody is comfortable and gets the whole coach Daniel motto of ‘lets go, lets move it, lets move the ball’ and he just really wants us to go out there and play hard.”
Scott said Daniel’s motto is not just restricted to the team’s performance on the court, but off the court as well.
Scott said whether it is in the classroom or in the community, the program displays well-rounded student athletes who are making a difference in the lives of many throughout the community.
With the team adding eight freshmen to the program this offseason, a number of new players will have to adopt Daniel’s motto and the culture he has created.
Scott said she has already envisioned how the team can utilize its collection of young players to achieve success on the court this season.
“Since we have a lot of new freshmen, we want to try to put different, versatile players out there, give people a hard time trying to guard us by playing people at different positions and making it a little harder for other teams to adapt to what we’re doing,” Scott said.
With the team relying on the new freshmen to contribute to the team’s game plan, Scott said getting them comfortable and acclimated to a higher level of competition is a top priority.
“I think we will probably be a little shaky trying to get our freshmen into the flow and just try to help them adapt to college basketball,” Scott said. “It’s so much different from high school.”
With the tip-off to the season still about two months away, Scott said she believes the team will be settled in and ready to go by its first game Nov. 4 against Kentucky Christian University.
Brittanie Fowler can be contacted at [email protected].