[1] Laura Harper played college basketball at the University of Maryland and was part of the 2006 National Championship team.

She tore her Achilles tendon during her freshman year, but battled back to become the Most Outstanding Player of the 2006 NCAA tournament.

Harper was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

[12] Harper moved to North Carolina to become an assistant coach at High Point University in June 2014.

On July 20, 2020, Harper was announced as the new head women's basketball coach at Coppin State University.

[14] On April 20, 2022, Towson University announced Harper as the new head coach of their women's basketball team.

Haviland Harper's great-uncle, David "Big Dave" DeJernett, was a pioneering Afro-American basketball star at both pro and amateur levels in the Midwest.