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Alana Beard Honored Back Home In Louisiana

One of Duke’s finest gets her due in her home state

By JD King
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Jimmy V Classic - Duke Blue Devils vs Purdue Boilermakers - Novermber 23, 2003
Alana Beard 20 is fouled by Emily Heikes 52 on a drive to the basket. Duke Blue Devils defeats the Purdue Boilmakers 93-63.
Photo by Sandra Dukes/Getty Images

The first time we saw Alana Beard, we had no idea who she was.

There was pickup ball in Card Gym and all of sudden this long, thin arm shot out and picked off a pass and headed downcourt for a layup.

It was unbelievably athletic, one of the most dazzling things we’d seen a woman do in basketball. Still is.

We followed her at Duke of course, where she scored an amazing 2,687 points, and in the WNBA, where she won back to back Defensive Player Of The Year in 2017-18. She remains one of our favorite players.

So it was great news to hear that she has been inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. It’s richly deserved.

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