With her family and friends, and teammates, in attendance Friday, Lyric McIver stamped her future.

The Liberty County High School senior signed a letter of intent to play for Baton Rouge (La.) Community College.

“She’s a great student, a great person,” Lady Panthers coach Kimberly Battle said. “I have never had a teacher complain about her grades. That goes out to her parents doing a good job in raising her and setting expectations.”

McIver averaged 12.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game as a senior. For her career, she averaged 7.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. She wondered if she was going to get attention from colleges before posting her senior year numbers.

“I started to doubt myself and started to think it was all for no reason,” she said. “Then came my senior year and they started rolling in and I started seeing some rewards for my hard work.”

McIver also noted the long hours and extra work she put in after practice, often staying at the gym until 8 at night. There also was a time after her freshman season she thought about not coming back out for the team.

“I remember you were ready to quit,” said LCHS principal Warnella Wilder, who was a standout athlete in high school herself. “Coach Battle gave that hard coaching, that tough love, and look where we are.”

McIver credited her family and her teammates for helping push her.

“My freshman year was a wake-up call,” she said. “Yes, I did want to quit but thank you to my teammates helped me push through. I’m really grateful. We pushed each other. When you’re in the gym and you’re out on the floor, the coach isn’t out on the floor with you. It’s you and the other four. I wouldn’t be here without everybody.”