Laurie Milligan (Vizzini) (born June 7, 1976) is a born winner on the basketball court. The Tigard native was named Oregon's top prep player before she joined the University of Tennessee program that would win three consecutive national championships.
Milligan emerged from grass roots basketball when she was just ten years old, playing for the Oregon Courtrunners. Her development before high school caught the attention of Tennessee and coach Pat Summit when in her freshman year, the Courtrunners won the U15 National title.
Tigard advanced to play in the OSAA 4A state tournament all four of Laurie's seasons with the Tigers, finishing fourth in the state on three occasions. In 1994, Milligan was honored as Oregon's 4A player of the year, averaging 17 points assist and three rebounds per game while shooting 43% from the field her senior then. By the end of her prep career, she had won multiple All-America honors.
Milligan was also a great competitor on the soccer field, helping the Tigers to back-to-back state championships.
Laurie was a great fit at Tennessee, joining a dominant collegiate program that advanced to the national championship game all four of her seasons in Knoxville. That allowed Milligan to play in a total of 24 NCAA post-season games, more than any other women's player in history. The Vols lost the 1995 final to Connecticut, then won the next three in a row. Laurie played in all 37 games as a freshman and played her most minutes as a junior, averaging 8.3 points and 4.5 assists in 29.8 minutes per game.
Now known as Laurie Vizzini, she has built a successful realty career with her mother and has trained and coached young basketball players. She was a speaker at Tigard High School's Women's Sports Symposium in 2024.
