By Robert Wilson
Germantown girls basketball coach Jamie Glasgow has watched Alana Rouser give it her all since she started playing on the varsity in the eighth grade.
So when she did it again last week in the final two game of her high school career, Glasgow wasn’t surprised she laid it all on the line.
The 6-foot senior forward and Florida Atlantic signee averaged 13 points and 13.5 rebounds in two games and led Germantown to a MHSAA Class 7A runner-up finish and its fourth consecutive Girls State Tournament appearance.
For her outstanding performance, Rouser has been named the Junction Deli/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Girls Basketball Player of the Week.
Rouser had 18 points, 13 rebounds and 3 steals in Germantown’s 47-38 loss to Tupelo in the 7A championship game and had 8 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocked shots in Germantown’s 50-43 victory over St. Martin in the semifinals at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.
Rouser averaged 12.5 points, 12.2 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 1.6 assists and 1.5 blocked shots and led Germantown to a 23-10 record this season. She has a career-high 23 points against Madison Central this season and a career-high 22 rebounds against Brandon as a sophomore.
Rouser finished with a school record 1,501 career rebounds, one of the top rebound totals in Mississippi history, and has scored 1,588 career points, second in school history to High School All-American and two-time USA Basketball gold medalist Madison Booker, who finished with 1,862 points from 2018-2023.
“Alana gave it everything she had last week,” said Glasgow, the only coach Germantown has had in its 14-year school history. “She scored, rebounded, and defended. Alana has played like that every game since she was in the eighth grade. It was never a question of what kind of effort Alana would play with each game. It has been a blessing to coach her.”
Rouser was a member of the PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Preseason Elite 11 Team.
She averaged 12.5 points and 11.0 rebounds and helped Germantown to a 29-2 record and the first MHSAA Class 6A championship in school history last season a junior. Rouser has been selected to the first team on the PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Team and to the Preseason Elite 11 Team for the past two seasons.
Her 23 points against Madison Central was two more point than her previous career high of 21 points against Choctaw Central last season. Rouser grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds against Brandon two years ago as a sophomore.
Rouser averaged 10.2 points and 10.1 rebounds as a sophomore, 13.1 points and 10.9 rebounds as a freshman and 9.2 points and 9.8 rebounds as an eighth grader.
She had Division I offers from Southern Miss, Alcorn State, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley, Florida International and Louisiana-Monroe as well as Florida Atlantic.
Rouser is the daughter of Mahwana Rouser-Triplett and Anthony Triplett. Mahwana was a member of the track and field and girls powerlifting team at Madison Central High. Anthony played football and baseball at Forest Hill High. He was a member of the Mississippi Class 4A-5A All-Star Team and played at Tougaloo College. Mahwana and Anthony both graduated from Tougaloo.
Alana is the oldest of six siblings: Li’Kya (11), Aiyanna (8), Audriyana (6), Avianna (4) and Austin (2).
Olympic track and field gold medalist Bianca Knight is Alana’s aunt. Knight, who graduated from Ridgeland High, was a member of the 400 meter relay team, which broke the world record in 2012 and won the gold medal. Knight was named the national female track and field Gatorade Player of the Year as senior at Ridgeland in 2008. She won the 200 meters indoor national championship as a freshman at Texas before turning pro.
This is the last Metro Jackson Girls Basketball Player of the Week this season. Mississippi Scoreboard would like to thank all the coaches who sent in nominations for their players this season to Robert Wilson. He really appreciates it. There are about 40 high schools in Hinds, Madison and Rankin counties and having coaches submit nominations makes the selection process easier.
Previous Players of the Week
Week One: Taelar Felton, Clinton
Week Two: Ann Magee Stradinger, Jackson Prep
Week Three: Shamira Morton, Canton
Week Four: Lauren Sutton, Madison Central
Week Five: Maia Turner, Madison St. Joseph
Week Six: Alana Rouser, Germantown
Week Seven: Anna Morgan Anderson, MRA
Week Eight: Shamira Morton, Canton
Week Nine: Taelar Felton, Clinton
Week Ten: Liz Stevens, East Rankin Academy
Week Eleven: Klylah Stovall, Forest Hill
Week Twelve: Charlie Gamberine, Germantown
