By Robert Wilson 

Canton senior forward and Seton Hall signee Shamira Morton scored only five points in a loss to Northwest Rankin Dec. 16. It was the first time in her high school career she had been held to less than 10 points.

The 6-foot-3 Morton is going to do her best not to let it happen again this season.

The two-time Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Player of the Year had one of the best weeks of her career this past week averaging 33 points, 12 rebounds, 6 blocked shots, 2.5 steals and 1 assist and led Canton to two victories.

For her outstanding performance, Morton has been named the Legacy Theater Flowood/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Girls Basketball Player of the Week.

Morton had 30 points, 11 rebounds, 5 blocked shots and 3 steals in a 55-43 victory over MHSAA Class 5A state championship contender North Pike in the Pearl Christmas Tournament and 36 points, 13 rebounds, 7 blocked shots, 2 steals and 2 assists in a 62-58 victory over Neshoba Central in a battle between the two top rated teams in MHSAA Class 6A by MaxPreps last week.

Morton is averaging 22.4 points, 12.2 rebounds, 4.6 blocked shots and 3.1 steals this season for Canton, which had a 14-3 record and is rated No. 17 in Mississippi and No. 2 in MHSAA Class 6A by MaxPreps going into this week. She ranks third in blocked shots and fourth in scoring and rebounds in Mississippi by MaxPreps. 

She is averaging 29.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.2 blocked shots in her last four games since scoring only five points in the 43-20 loss at Northwest Rankin. Morton had a career-high 14 blocked shots against Pontotoc. It was two short of the Mississippi record of 16 held by BraDee Fry of Moss Point in the 1999-2000 season. 

“After the Northwest Rankin loss, we knew we had to focus going into the second half of the season,” Canton coach Melissa Word said. “Shamira has always been a leader and took that loss personally. Since then, she’s been on a tear and gotten a lot of help from her teammates. This past week she’s gotten back to consistently making the shots that she’s always made. Her defense has ramped up in the rebounds, blocks and steals department also. Our district is pretty tough and consistency will definitely play a huge part of winning the rest of the season.”

Morton took official visits to Seton Hall, Providence and Louisiana Tech. She also had Division I offers from Southern Miss, Alcorn State, Alabama-Birmingham, Memphis, South Alabama, SMU, Tulane, Belmont, Murray State, George Mason, Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Stony Brook and North Carolina A&T.

She averaged 23.6 points, 14 rebounds and 5.5 blocked shots and led Canton to its second consecutive MHSAA Class 5A runner-up finish this past season as a junior.

Morton was second in rebounding and blocked shots and third in scoring in Mississippi by MaxPreps this past season.

She has had season highs of 40 points (also a career high) against Velma Jackson, 21 rebounds against Germantown and 10 blocked shots against Leake Central, Provine, Greenville and Cleveland Central. She has career high of 23 rebounds against Ridgeland.

For the second straight year, Morton led Canton to one win from a state championship, this past year losing to Pontotoc 41-39 in the MHSAA Class 5A state title game. She had 22 points (10 of 13 from the field), 18 rebounds, 6 blocked shots, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

Morton had 34 points (16 of 19 from the field), 14 rebounds, 7 blocked shots and 2 assists in a 68-33 victory over Lafayette in the first round of the state tournament. She had 15 points, 13 rebounds, 6 blocked shots, 2 assists, and 2 steals in a 59-45 victory over New Hope in the quarterfinals and had 22 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, and made the the winning shot with 2 seconds to play, in a 42-40 victory over Laurel in the semifinals in a rematch of last year’s state championship game.

Morton led Canton to a 28-6 record and a 16-game winning streak before the state championship loss. Four of Canton’s six losses were to larger class teams (Class 7A Clinton and Class 6A Hancock) and out of state teams (Har-Ber, Ark., and North Little Rock, Ark.). It was the second straight season Morton has led Canton to a school record 28 wins and a 19-1 region record over the past two seasons.

Morton is the daughter of Shameka and Dewayne Morton. Shameka played basketball at Gulfport High and Jefferson Davis Junior College, now Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Dewayne played basketball at Canton High and Holmes CC. 

Morton has three older brothers, Gregory Moore, Donovan Morton and Malachi Morton, and a younger sister, Daliyah Morton. Gregory graduated from Canton High and Mississippi Gulf Coast CC and will graduate this spring from Tennessee State. Donovan graduated from Germantown High and will graduate this spring from Jackson State. Malachi played basketball at Velma Jackson High and Yazoo County High. Daliyah is in the sixth grade at the Canton Arts and Science.

Mississippi Scoreboard selects a girls basketball player from Hinds, Madison, or Rankin counties each week. Coaches can nominate a player by sending a text to Robert Wilson at 601.506.2276. 

PREVIOUS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

WEEK ONE: Liz Stevens, East Rankin Academy 

WEEK TWO: Ella Jackson, Hartfield Academy

WEEK THREE: Ayla Benson, Madison Central