Shayla Scott enters her fourth season on the sidelines at La Salle in 2014-15. Scott is a 2011 graduate of Pittsburgh, where she was a four-year letterwinner on the Panthers squad.Scott assumed the scheduling responsibilities for the 2014-15 season while also overseeing strength and conditioning, equipment and academics, and also working on the court with the team's forwards.
She helped guide the 2013-14 squad which turned heads, as the Explorers posted the most Atlantic 10 wins (9) since the 1996-97 season and earned a No. 7 seed in the Atlantic 10 Championship. The team advanced to the quarterfinal round for the second time in three years. La Salle topped three of the league's top six seeds over the course of the regular season, including wins over all four A-10 teams that earned WNIT bids. The Explorers topped the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense, field goal percent defense and three-point field goal percent defense in league play. La Salle placed two players on Atlantic 10 postseason teams, including All-Conference Second Team pick Alicia Cropper and All-Rookie Team selection Micahya Owens. Cropper also earned Philadelphia Big 5 First Team honors.
In her first year as an assistant in 2011-12, she assisted the Explorers to a .500 record in Atlantic 10 play and the second round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. She has helped mentor Atlantic 10 and Big 5 honorees, including 2013 Big 5 scoring champion and First Team pick Brittany Wilson.
Scott brought a wealth of knowledge and success to 20th and Olney after helping guide Pitt to two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and a WNIT appearance in her four years on the court. She ranks fourth all-time at Pitt in 3-pointers made, as well as 18th in scoring (996), 10th in rebounds (710) and 15th in assists (249). She also recorded 115 blocks and 81 steals in her career. She graduated ranked seventh all-time in games played, as she saw time in 123 career contests with 101 of those being starts. Scott also recorded 47 career double-digit scoring games and 18 double-digit rebound performances.Scott started all 31 games as a senior, tallying 13 double-digit scoring games and sinking 40 3-pointers. She recorded a season-high 20 points on Senior Day against Villanova, and was two assists shy of a triple-double against Austin Peay. As a junior, she set career highs in nearly ever offensive category, including a career-best 21 points against Syracuse.
The Panthers reached the Sweet 16 in both her freshman and sophomore years, with Scott playing significant roles in both. She started all 33 games as a sophomore, setting a career high in rebounds (18) against Notre Dame and going 5-for-9 with six rebounds in the Panthers' 86-57 win over then-No. 8 Rutgers. She added 11 points in the NCAA First Round game against Montana. As a freshman, she earned 11 starts and played in 28 games despite suffering an injury.Scott also brings a strong work ethic off the court, embracing the meaning of the term “student-athlete.” She was active in off-the-court athletic activities, including serving as the secretary of Pitt's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Blue and Gold Society. She also completed both her bachelor's and master's degrees in four years, earning her bachelor's in media and professional communications before completing a master's in health and fitness.
As a senior, she earned the Pat Blayden Spirit of Sport Award in conjunction with the National Girls & Women in Sports Day. Nominees must demonstrate academic and athletic achievement, competitive spirit, sportmanship, forthrightness and integrity, as well as community involvement.
“Most importantly, Shayla is a student-athlete and the type of person I want mentoring our kids,” Williams added. “She has great character and she knows what it's like to be a student-athlete and compete at a high level both on the court and in the classroom.”
