INDUCTION INFORMATION: This is one in a series of features on Louisiana Tech's 2021 Hall of Fame Class. The induction ceremony will be held Friday, Oct. 7 inside the Thomas Assembly Center on Karl Malone Court (was postponed in 2021). Tickets are still available to the event for $50 per ticket or $400 for a table of eight. They can be purchased HERE. For more information, contact Championship Resources assistant Tyler Ross at 318.497.7265 or tross@latechalumni.org.
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Debra Williams saved some of her best performance for the biggest stages.
 
And the 1994 Kodak All-American is riding those performances – and plenty of others – into the Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame this Friday.
 
Williams signed with the Lady Techsters after producing eye-popping numbers at Houston Austin High School, where she averaged 39.8 points and 11.4 rebounds per game as a senior.  
 
She was named to the Street & Smith's Exclusive Girls All-American Team and selected for a tryout for the U.S. Olympic Festival. She ended her prep career as the second leading scorer in the state of Texas in the past 50 years (1942 to 1991). 
 
And although she never quite matched those numbers for a loaded LA Tech team, it was her ability to produce offensively that earned her the reputation of a big-time, big-game scorer. 
 
"Offensively, she was really really good," said legendary Hall of Fame coach Leon Barmore. "She could take you off the dribble one-on-one. She could shoot the three. She just had deep range on her three-point shot. She could shoot the ball from distance with little effort which back then not a lot of girls could do; at least not accurately. 
 
"Defensively she had to work hard at it because she was just much better on the offensive end. I thought Debra was a very good teammate. We had kids who could have scored a whole lot more if they were somewhere else, but with Pam Thomas and Vicki Johnson all three of them could really score. Debra Williams was an offensive machine."
 
Williams, who starred for Tech from 1992 to 1996, still ranks No. 13 in the all-time career scoring list with 1,749 points. She is one of 13 players in program history to earn Kodak All-American honors, joining teammate Vickie Johnson and eight others across the country on the 1996 team following her senior year. 
 
Although her career-high of 34 points came in a win over SMU, some of her other major performances came at the biggest times. A 71-68 win over No. 1 ranked Tennessee in the 1994 NCAA Regional Semifinal in Fayetteville, Arkansas. An 83-81 win over No. 1 ranked UConn in the 1995 State Farm Classic in Knoxville, Tennessee. And even a close exhibition game loss to Team USA at the Thomas Assembly Center. 
 
"That shows you; just those three games against Tennessee, Connecticut, and the USA National Team where she played her best," said Barmore. "She did her best against the very best. It wasn't like she was doing it against lesser teams."
 
Williams still lives in Houston. She owns her own remodeling construction business – Cooper Williams. And she still has plenty of fond memories of her alma mater. 
 
"The love and the support," said Williams. "The atmosphere. The coaching staff. The players. My teammates. Just the joy of being on campus at Louisiana Tech.
 
"The people that came cheered us on from the time we came out to shoot around until the end of the game. It was always electric (in the Thomas Assembly Center). It was great to not only grace the court and perform for the fans, but to also be able to develop relationships with the fans off the court."
 
The Williams-led Tech program recorded a four-year mark of 116-17 during her time in the columbia blue. And although she has plenty of great wins to choose from, she said her top memory is playing in the 1994 national championship against North Carolina – a contest Tech lost 60-59 in Richmond, Virginia on Charlotte Smith's buzzer-beating three-pointer..
 
"If I had to choose a game it would be the national championship game in 1994," said Williams. "It was a heartbreaker, but I think it was one of the best national championship games played as of today. It was a joy to be able to perform on that stage in front of all those people. 
 
"Even though we didn't come out on top, the experience of walking out on that court with Louisiana Tech written across our jerseys and representing the University … that was one of the most memorable moments."
 
Williams, who said she hasn't been back to Ruston since 2017, remembers her recruitment to LA Tech vividly.
 
"I had the opportunity to play anywhere in the country; any of the top 25 programs in the country," said Williams. "When I stepped on the campus, Louisiana Tech felt like home even though I grew up in a big city like Houston. It's like they took that small-town feel and put this great University in the middle of it. The love and support felt like home."
 
Ultimately, it was her conversation with Barmore during her recruiting visit and what he emphasized to her that separated LA Tech from the rest of the top programs. 
 
"The one thing that (Coach Barmore) told me that always stood out to me was 'Debra, the program speaks for itself. What do you want to major in? What do you want to do after you finish playing basketball? What do you want to do as far as your education?'
 
"If I spent 36 hours on campus on my recruiting visit, I think 35 of those were spent getting to know the College of Business. I thought that was great. At all of the other campuses that I visited the whole time was spent on basketball and just a few minutes on academics. That was the difference. I thought that was unique. It was something I appreciated, and something my parents appreciated."
 
When Williams is enshrined into the Tech Athletics Hall of Fame Friday night it will occur in the same arena that she called home during her collegiate hoops career. And she knows the honor is a product of her passion for the game.
 
"I just wanted to play basketball because I loved the game," said Williams. "I was never thinking it was going to lead to the accolades that have come with it. I just wanted to get out there and play and have fun. I never played the game for these individual honors. I just played the game because I loved it."
 
And LA Tech fans loved her.