Reese saw her playing career sidetracked due to her pregnancy and the birth of her son in her senior year of high school, but she refused to give up on her athletic aspirations. She went to work to return to playing form and wowed at Chattahoochee Valley Community College, where her play earned her a scholarship with the Tigers.
"I was so anxious to post it on social media because I wanted everybody to know. When I finally committed, it felt good," Reese said. "I was really surprised that I got this offer from the time of me having a baby and waiting out like a year to play. I never thought I had a chance to play for a D-I school. It was very exciting."
Reese was the driving force during the 2016-2017 season as part of a squad that also featured current Georgia Southern player Ja'Nya Love-Hill. Reese and the Lady Tigers put together an incredible run through the Class 4A state tournament to the state title game, where they faced off with rival Columbus.
Reese, then a junior, led Carver against a loaded Columbus team featuring future Kentucky Wildcat Tatyana Wyatt and Alabama Crimson Tide player Ariyah Copeland. Despite Columbus' dominant bigs, Reese and her teammates held serve throughout the game and erased a double-digit deficit late in the fourth quarter. Reese's free throws with four seconds left on the clock forced overtime.
Although Carver came up short on a last-second three-pointer in the extra session, Reese had made her presence known.
"Alycia was definitely a key part in it," Carver coach Anson Hundley said. "She shot the ball extremely well, but the best part to me about her is defensively she is a monster. She defended the best player each night that we stepped on the floor, and 90 percent of the time she shut them down. When you have a defensive player like that, it just makes life a whole lot easier."
Reese had another year to try and lead Carver to a championship run, but life got in the way. Reese's pregnancy put basketball on the backburner, and on November 28, 2017, she gave birth to her son, Andrew Ogletree.
Despite being a parent, Reese didn't give up on playing basketball. She signed with CVCC in May 2018 in Phenix City with the goal of coming back better than ever.
It didn't take Reese long to realize just how difficult that endeavor was going to be.
"I never thought that getting back in shape and getting fit was so hard. There were days I cried because I just couldn't — I couldn't do it," Reese said. "It was so hard, but my coaches wouldn't let me give up. They pushed me to work harder. I had to do extra things to get my core back tight, my legs strong and my strength up. It was very hard."
Even though the road back was difficult, Reese made it happen. She made four starts in 31 games during her freshman season and contributed 10.6 points per game. Her play earned her a spot on the Alabama Community College Conference South Division second-team squad.
The 5-foot-10 Reese entered her sophomore year as the lone returning member of CVCC's backcourt, and in the leadup to the season coaches Ron Robinson and Michael Woods pushed her to become a leader of the team. Reese knew the importance of self-responsibility, and she took their challenge to heart.
Reese led the way for CVCC with 12.8 points per game and also contributed 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 24 games of action for the 19-win squad. Thanks in part to Reese's contributions, the Lady Pirates were three games ahead of second place in their division before falling in the semifinals of the ACCC conference tournAament.
Reese's play impressed the coaching staff at Auburn, which led to the program offering her a scholarship. Given its proximity to home, Reese decided becoming an Auburn Tiger was tooA good to pass up.
"Auburn is close to home. I have a 2-year-old son who stays home, so I want to be close to him to help take care of him. I don't have to go far, and he can watch me play," Reese said. "Auburn has a good basketball program. I like how (Terri Williams-Flournoy) coached them, how she taught them and how she pushed them to work hard and be better players and people."
Reese said she is most excited about making new friends and finding a way to contribute to Auburn's team next season. She said she is particularly excited to carry over the leadership skills she sharpened at CVCC and to do her part to help the Tigers stand out in a stacked SEC.
Reese kept family at the forefront while also maintaining her goal of playing college basketball at the highest level. Now that the opportunity has arrived, she's determined to make the most of it.
"I want to be a good shooting guard and a good defensive player," Reese said. "With my personality, I'm always goofy and laughing. When someone's down, I'll always bring them up. I just want the fans to see the type of person that I am."