For Valerie Higgins, basketball runs in the family. Her father, mother and brother Keith ’20 all love the game as much as she does, and Keith was the second Higgins to play for Chaminade. 

As a senior, she set career highs at Chaminade, was named SoCal Player of the Year, and was selected to the Jordan Brand Classic All-American West Team. She was also named to the All-CIF First Team and was selected as the Los Angeles Times girls’ basketball player of the year. She was ranked as an ESPN Top-10 wing and averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, and six steals per game. A two-time Nike EYBL National Champion, Valerie was a three-time league MVP and three-time All-CIF honoree. Named the 2016 USA Today All-California Second Team. She played at the club level for Nike Cal Stars and Team Taurasi, winning the Nike National Championships with both teams.

After her first year AT USC, she transferred to the University of the Pacific, where she was redshirted for a year. She went on to play for them for three years. and she received the All-WCC Defensive Player of the Year award twice and was selected All-WCC First Team three years in a row.

After graduating from the UOP, she became the first WNBA Draft pick in program history when the New York Liberty drafted her. In her first pro season, 2021-2022, she played with Young Angels in Slovakia. In 2022, she was named Eurobasket Player of the Year, Guard of The Year, and Import Player of the Year and was selected as All First Team 2022.

In the 2022-2023 season, she played for Esperides in Greece. Now happily back at her alma mater, UOP, she is focused on coaching as the Director of Player Operations for the girls’ basketball program.