Alana Beard is in her fifth year as a Washington Mystics basketball player. The 5-foot-11 guard-forward is averaging about 19 points this season. A Duke University graduate, Beard is the school's leading scorer in women's basketball and the first woman to have her jersey number retired.

She was born in Louisiana in 1982, a year before the first "Sweet Valley High" book was published.

Here is what she said about the series:

"Starting at an early age, my parents would take my siblings and me to the library and allow us to pick out a couple of books to read. I read the usual childhood books -- Dr. Seuss, Curious George, etc. However, as time progressed I became fond of the 'Sweet Valley High' series.

"I enjoyed reading 'Sweet Valley High' for many reasons -- one reason being for leisure, another for fun and the last because I felt really cool, being that I was only 12 or 13 reading a book where the theme circled around high school. ...

"The two characters I remember are the twins, Jessica and Elizabeth. Although they were twins, I remember them being on different ends of the spectrum. Elizabeth was the one with the brain and took everything about school seriously, and I remember relating more with her. Growing up, I was the one that always wanted to do everything right. I wanted the perfect grades and wanted to be the best in basketball.

"Books are very important in many ways (and) not just for school. As I get older and far removed from school, I never stop learning. I turn to books to better understand life. Reading about someone's life experiences and applying it to yours is a great way to grow as an individual. I encourage all of you to pick up a book and just have fun. (Put) yourself in the author's shoes and see how much fun it can be."