Louisiana Tech senior guard Brooke Pumroy's house is cluttered with beauty products. And they don't even belong to her, or her roommate.

Nope. The owner of this beauty buffet is Tiara Davenport, LA Tech's 6-foot sophomore forward/guard combo. When Tiara isn't battling it out on the court in her Columbia blue and red Lady Techster uniform, she loves to play real-life Barbie.

"I feel like I have the soul of a little girl," said Tiara, who is affectionately known as "T" by her teammates, coaches and friends. "I like to play dress up. It just hasn't gone away."

Brooke laughs at her friend. She also describes her to a T.

"Tiara is a diva," Pumroy said. "Her makeup is everywhere in my house. Her hair dye is all over the shower. She is just all over the house. She is like, 'Hey. I am T. I love my nails done. I love my makeup and my hair.' That's her for sure. She is the complete opposite of me. I could not care less."

Opposites attract. And these two have definitely done that over the past 18 months.

"I like to dress up, and I like to get cute," said Tiara. "I like makeup and high heels. I'd rather dress up with my hair and nails done and heels rather than just chill clothes. I like getting cute and taking pictures. I always wanted to be a model but with this basketball thing…"

This "basketball thing" happens to be what brought Tiara and Brooke together in the summer of 2014. The friendship began soon after they both enrolled at Louisiana Tech as scholarship student-athletes.

But that's about where the similarities end.

Brooke was an experienced college player, transferring from Marquette where the Ohio native had started for two years under head coach Terri Mitchell and Tyler Summitt, who was an assistant coach for the Golden Eagles.

Tiara was the complete opposite. She was a young, inexperienced true freshman from Texas, recruited by, signed and prepared to play for Teresa Weatherspoon. Or so she thought.

Two months before graduating from Duncanville High School and embarking on her college career, Davenport got the news.

"Candace Williams, who was supposed to be my roommate (at LA Tech), texted me and said, 'Did you hear about Coach Spoon,'" Tiara said. "She had just gotten off the phone with her. 'T, Coach Spoon got fired. What are we going to do?' I was like, 'Wait, what?'

"Then coach Spoon called me and said, 'I no longer have my job (at Louisiana Tech). You can pick what you want to do. I am not sure where I am going, but wherever I go I would want you guys to come with me if that is okay.'"

While Williams decided to ask for a release and eventually ended up at James Madison, Tiara wasn't nearly as quick to want out of her National Letter of Intent. She was patient, knowing that she still wanted to go to Louisiana Tech.

"I chose LA Tech because it is closer to home, and I love the fans," said Tiara, also offered scholarships by Wisconsin, Clemson and Memphis. "I just like being here. Don't get me wrong, Coach Spoon was so nice to me. But I didn't (sign at Tech) for her. I signed with LA Tech because I wanted to be a part of this legacy.

"This is like Duncanville High School. They are known for women's basketball and winning championships. I just felt like it could happen again, and that's why I really wanted to be here."

Davenport had already experienced way too much change during her high school days. She signed with Tech after a "cluttered" high school life that saw her play for three different programs as she followed her mother, Nikki Alexander, from job to job. Tiara started at Duncanville High School as a freshman, playing a handful of JV games before transferring to Triple A Academy in Dallas in the middle of the year.

Her sophomore year saw her play varsity basketball at Triple A Academy; however, after the conclusion of the season, she transferred back to Duncanville, which had just won the state title. Her sights were set on helping the program duplicate that feat her junior season.

It wouldn't happen as fate ââ'¬" and Nikki's employment status ââ'¬" sent her another direction. This time the job led Tiara to Johnson High School in San Antonio.

"Knowing I'm my mom's only child and she isn't married, I wasn't about to send her there alone," Tiara said. "It took a lot out of me because all I wanted was to win a championship. I left and went with her and played for Johnson."

While Tiara was averaging over 17 points and 12 rebounds a game for Johnson, Duncanville was successfully repeating as the state champions.

The fruit-basket-turnover of a high school career wasn't over. Tiara moved back to Duncanville prior to her senior year ââ'¬" with her mother ââ'¬" and prepared for what she hoped would be a three-peat of the state title. Colleges across the country were in hot pursuit, regardless of what uniform she wore, and in November of her senior year, she signed on the dotted line to play for Louisiana Tech.

"It was close to home and I knew I had a lot of family that wanted to see me play," she said.

As her final year of high school basketball came to a close, it did so without the state title she coveted. Duncanville fell in the state title game. It was devastating for Tiara, but she knew the next phase of her life and "this basketball thing" was right around the corner.

"By this time everything was falling into place for me with my grades, getting ready for graduation; everything just started to fall in place," she said.

Or so she thought. In mid-March, Tiara got the text message and subsequent phone call that slightly muddied the waters.

However, her first conversation two weeks later with her new coach, 23-year-old Tyler Summitt, cleared things up.

"I do remember my first conversation with him," Tiara said. "He texted me and said, 'Hi, this is Tyler Summitt, and I will give you a call. Is 30 minutes okay?' He called and said, 'Hey T.' That's the first thing that caught my attention. He didn't call me Tiara, he called me T.

"He was like, 'Hey T. I know you are probably confused because of the (coaching change) but if you want to stay we would love to have you here.' He started going on about how he wanted to do things such as family and starting over and starting it back up. After talking to him, I decided that when God closes a door, He opens another one. Everything happens for a reason. So I was like maybe this was meant to happen. I am glad it did."

Summitt had just successfully signed his first recruit, so-to-speak.

"Before I called any of our incoming freshmen, I did a lot of research on them through scouting services, through their high school and AAU coaches and through (Tech's) former assistants," Summitt said. "I knew a lot about T before I called her. I remember having to re-recruit her, but I don't think T was sold just on Coach Weatherspoon. I think she was sold on the entire university. It wasn't hard to convince her to stay."

Following the phone call, Tiara immediately went online to research her new coach.

"Even when he said this is Tyler Summitt, it didn't register," Tiara said. "So I got on Twitter and the Internet. This was legit. I was so excited."

So Tiara and all of her beauty products packed up following high school graduation and headed to Ruston for summer school. She was the lone survivor of what was a four-person signing class as Williams transferred while Summitt released Tiffany Murdock and Daja Chase from their NLI's.

The transition from high school to college is difficult for most, but even more so for student-athletes, forced to learn time management, responsibility and other adult behaviors more rapidly. Tiara felt very alone in this transition, but reached out to her coach.

"It was hard because I was by myself," Tiara said. "When I went to coach Tyler and told him how hard it was and how lonely it could be, he and (his wife) AnDe were always there."

Although it didn't prevent him being demanding on his rookie, Summitt did understand what she was experiencing in year No. 1 away from home.

"I think T's freshman year was very unique and difficult because not only did she have a new coaching staff but we had a veteran team of five seniors," Summitt said. "It was even more difficult than most freshman have to experience. T had to adjust to a new coaching staff, going away from home to college, living in a new place, and being the only (freshman). That's hard.

"I think T and I had a lot of discussions that were mainly about growing up and being independent. She had to learn to take care of herself and have a mindset that she is trying to accomplish something. I think at times T's priorities were not in line with what she said her goals were."

Enter Brooke Pumroy. One of two Marquette transfers on the team, Brooke was forced to red-shirt due to the NCAA Transfer rule. She used it as an opportunity to help others with the transition to a coach and a style in which she was already familiar.

"When I came down here, I told Tyler and my parents that I wanted to help the program," Brooke said. "I wanted to help the girls. I tried to help any way I could. I think Tiara being the only freshman was more open to it. I took that and ran with it. I saw a lot of potential with her. She is a great person and an awesome player. I remember what it was like to be a freshman. It's tough. Everyone else is already experienced and knows what they are doing. I felt like I could help her."

She did.

"Brooke was a big help to me." Tiara said. "That girl is a true best friend to everybody. Even if you're not her best friend, she will treat you like one. She is a really genuine person."

So the wind-blown, blonde-haired veteran from Ohio made it a priority to help the wide-eyed, stylish rookie from Texas in the winding road through her freshman season. There were plenty of pot holes along the way.

"I would come home some days, and I would know if T had a bad day because she would be a lying in my bed, passed out," Brooke said. "She would be lying in my bed sleeping. I would be like, 'Well, T had a tough day today. It's okay. We will fix it.'

"It was more the mental part of it that she needed help with. Coach Tyler is going to test you. It's hard. College basketball is hard to grasp mentally anyway. I really think it was more like, 'Hey, he is going to get on you. You are a freshman. That's the way it works.' I think hearing someone say that helped her."

"My freshman year I had to get used to morning practices," Tiara said. "I had to get use going longer in practices. I would get really tired. I would walk in the gym thinking I'm awake, but I was looking dead."

Not a good look for any player in the eyes of Summitt, especially in practice. Tiara and the rest of her teammates quickly learned that their coach didn't mess around when it came to being focused every day in every drill.

Any sign of a lack of focus had consequences as Tiara learned the hard way.

"T did not realize that for me you have to look very engaged, or I am going to be all over you," Summitt said. "She probably did about 500 pushups in the summer just for yawning."

Drill sergeant Summitt didn't play games when it came to basic training.

"Coach Tyler would be like, 'T, you are asleep, 10 pushups.'" Tiara said. "After a while it started clicking. I had to wake up. I just started taking it more seriously.

"As a freshman, it was just practice. Now it's not just practice. The older I get, the more I take it seriously. Plus, I just got tired of doing those darn pushups. It seemed like I could just breathe, and it was, 'T, 10 pushups. T, 10 pushups.' Now when I feel a yawn coming on, I breathe in deeply and look at him and smile. It goes away."

These days Summitt knows what the smile means.

"Now, I can see it in practice," he said. "I can see her wanting to yawn, and she will hold it in. I can look at her, and she will just smile. She knows that I am going to make her be mentally engaged. Every time I see her in the hallway now, she will open up her eyes a little bit more, she will stand a little taller and say, 'I'm awake, Coach.' It shows she is aware of why I am on her, and she is aware of what is important to be successful."

Despite the difficult transition to college, Tiara still had an impressive freshman season, averaging 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds a game while earning a spot on the Conference USA all-Freshman Team.

She scored in double figures eight times, including a career-high 19 in a win over Harvard, but it was her collegiate debut that is best remembered. With Tech trailing late on the road against defending Southland Conference champion Stephen F. Austin, Tiara hit back-to-back three-pointers in the final two minutes to lead the Lady Techsters to a win.

The game was not only Tiara's debut in a Lady Techster uniform, but it was Summitt's debut as the head coach. And although the win meant a lot to both of them, the relationship they have formed means more, much more.

"He's my coach, but I consider him family," Tiara said. "He's more than a coach. You don't usually get to know your coach the way I know coach Tyler. Some coaches only care about what you can do for the team. He cares about what he can do for you, what the school can do for you, what you can do for yourself and being the best you can be. It's genuine, and you can tell."

"I think the one-on-one meetings that T and I had are the reason why she doesn't get as upset when I get on her," Summitt said. "I have told T as well as the rest of the team that I will be their worst enemy in practice if they don't come ready to be the best that they can be every day. T recognizes that she is having a bad day sometimes before anyone else."

Although the amount of pushups she does these days has decreased drastically ââ'¬" according to Tiara she hasn't had to do any this year ââ'¬" there are still instances where lack of effort or execution leads to other accountability punishment such as running stadiums.

However, the sound of that authoritative voice booming out, "T, stairs," simply motivates No. 24.

"You know it is coming because he wants you to be the best you can be," Tiara said. "If he didn't care about you, you wouldn't have to run stairs. But the fact that he tells me, 'T, you could be so good if you just do this. T hit the stairs you don't know how good you could be.' That's cool for a coach to make their players feel like that. That's great."

And just how good can Tiara Davenport be? Summitt thinks that Lady Techster fans are in for a treat.

"I think if T continues to improve like she is improving, I think the sky is the limit," he said. "I think she can be as good or better than Whitney Frazier because of how dynamic she can be. That's quite the compliment. She can shoot the three, she can shoot the mid-range jumper, she can post up, she can finish, she can rebound, she is a hustle player, she can defend a post and she can defend a guard. She can impact the game in so many ways.

"She was the most improved player from this summer, and if she does that again this coming summer, man she is going to be a scary player."

Off the court, Tiara is anything but scary. Her coaches and her teammates refer to her as genuine and caring.

"She is awesome," Brooke said. "She is one of most loyal people that I have met. When you show her that you care, she will have your back 100 percent. If she is your friend, she is your friend. She is a very loyal person, and she has a big heart."

Whether in high tops or high heels, Tiara Davenport has the make-up for success.