DENHAM SPRINGS - Ranked number two in the state for women's high school basketball, the Denham Springs Lady Yellow Jackets competed in the State championships Saturday night against the defending champs, Parkway High.

Parkway won the game 57-29, but Denham Springs players got a once-in-a-lifetime pep-talk before the contest.

Former LSU and Phoenix Mercury basketball player, Marie Ferdinand-Harris, visited the school during practice on Saturday. Harris said she loves empowering other players to give their best on the court.

"What I wanted to instill in the girls today is to be determined and at the same time, don't be complacent. Don't be okay with just getting there. Let's get there and finish it. The goal is to finish," Harris said. "I saw me in a lot of these girls, just how excited they were, the opportunity, the nervousness."

Coach Caroline Taylor says her girls appreciated the extra motivation.

"It's really hard to put into words how much she can really inspire our girls and how they really just hang on to every single word that she says because it really is such an inspiration to hear from her," Taylor said.

Taylor added the Lady Yellow Jacket team is like family, uplifting and being each other's number one fan.

"To me, skill comes and goes, but at the end of the day, if you're not a family, you can't get it done."

Harris was in Baton Rouge for a signing for her new book titled, "Transform: The Winning Side of Losing," following the LSU Women's Basketball game Sunday night.