By Robert Wilson

Shamira Morton has accomplished a lot during her outstanding basketball career at Canton High.

The 6-foot-3 senior forward has the school career record for points (2,755), rebounds (1,753) and blocked shots (709). Morton is the first Canton girls basketball player in two decades to receive a Division I scholarship offer. She signed with Seton Hall, which plays in the Big East Conference. Morton was the MHSAA Class 5A Miss Basketball last season and is a two-time Tatum and Wade/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Player of the Year and four-time All Metro Jackson selection. Morton has led Canton to a school record 28 victories and back to back state runner-up finishes for the past two seasons as a junior and sophomore. She has had 69 double doubles and 12 triple doubles and has scored in double figures on all but one game in the past three seasons. 

But one accomplishment is missing – winning a state championship.

This is Morton’s last shot and she is going to do everything she can to carry her team all the way this season. 

She had one of the best weeks of her career last week and averaged 31 points, 19 rebounds and 5 blocked shots and led Canton to two MHSAA Class 6A, Region 2 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 22 points, 21 rebounds, 4 blocked shots, 3 assists and 1 steal in a 71-59 victory over Neshoba Central (ranked No. 1 in MHSAA Class 6A by MaxPreps) and 40 points (tying her career high), 17 rebounds, 6 blocked shots, 2 assists and 2 steals in a 60-30 victory over Ridgeland last week.

She is averaging 23.6 points (No. 2 in Mississippi by MaxPreps), 13.4 rebounds (No. 4 in Mississippi), 5.1 blocked shots (No. 3 in Mississippi), 3 steals and 1.8 assists with 22 double doubles and two triple doubles and has led Canton to a 21-3 record and 11 straight victories this season going into this week. Canton is ranked No. 11 in Mississippi and No. 2 in MHSAA Class 6A by MaxPreps. Canton’s only losses are to MHSAA Class 5A Laurel (ranked No. 3 in Mississippi), defending MHSAA Class 4A state champion Choctaw Central (ranked No. 7 in Mississippi) and MHSAA Class 7A Northwest Rankin (ranked No. 10 in Mississippi). 

“Shamira’s performance last week was one for the books,” said Canton coach Melissa Word, who won a state championship in 2013 along her back-to-back state runner-up finishes the past two seasons in her 28 years at Canton. “She clearly was on a mission and her teammates played a huge role in that mission. Shamira helps fuel the team and we’ve improved because of it.”

This is the second Morton has earned Player of the Week this season, the only player to do so. 

  She averaged 23.6 points (third in scoring average in Mississippi), 14 rebounds (second in rebounding average) and 5.5 blocked shots (second in blocked shots average) last season as a junior. Morton had 25 double doubles and five triple doubles.

Morton averaged 21.1 points, 13.4 rebounds and 5.2 blocked shots two years ago as a sophomore. She had 22 double doubles and five triple doubles. 

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

Morton’s 40 points last week matched her career high against Velma Jackson. She has career highs of 23 rebounds against Ridgeland and 12 blocked shots against Cleveland Central and Greenville as a sophomore.

In addition to Seton Hall, Morton has Division I offers from Alcorn State, Southern Miss, Memphis, SMU, Charlotte, South Alabama, Belmont, Murray State, Arkansas State, Stony Brook, and North Carolina A&T. She is the first Canton girls basketball player to receive a Division I offer since LaCourtney Ratliff received one from Ole Miss in 2003. Ratliff played on Canton’s state championship team.

She averaged 10.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.8 blocked shots and helped Clinton Christian to a 19-15 record and a third-place finish in the MAIS Class 4A state tournament and reached the MAIS Overall Tournament quarterfinals and made fourth team All-Metro Jackson three years ago season as a freshman before transferring to Canton for her sophomore year.

She started as an eighth grader at Canton before transferring to Clinton Christian.

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

WEEK FOUR: Shamira Morton, Canton

WEEK FIVE: Laylah Johnson, Pisgah 

WEEK SIX; Alayah Bolden, Madison Central