By Robert Wilson
Madison St. Joseph’s girls basketball team and coach Tommy Groves are glad that Blaine and Marlene Turner decided to send their three children to St. Richard’s then to St. Joe after the family relocated to the Jackson area from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005.
Their youngest, Maia, has been a special player for Groves and the Lady Bruins, especially last week.
The 5-foot-7 senior guard averaged 22 points and led St. Joe to two victories last week.
For her outstanding performance, Turner has been named the Junction Deli/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Girls Basketball Player of the Week.
Turner – a member of the PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Preseason Elite 11 Team – had 25 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in a 51-41 win over Cathedral and had 19 points, 4 assists and 3 steals in a 40-36 win over Riverfield, La., last week.
Turner is averaging 16.9 points and 3.8 assists this season for 13-8 St. Joe entering this week.
“Maia has gotten better about attacking the rim,” Groves said. “Everyone knows who she is and try to stop her from scoring. Once she attacks the rim a few times, that will open up some shots for her outside. Maia has also done a better job of distributing the ball to her teammates and cut down on her turnovers.”
Turner has offers from Belhaven, Tougaloo, Coahoma Community College, Copiah-Lincoln CC, Holmes CC, Itawamba CC and LeTourneau (Texas) University.
She averaged 13.1 points, 2 steals and 1.4 assists and led St. Joe to a 24-12 record and reached the MAIS Class 5A first round last year as a junior. Turner had highs of 27 points against Richland, 6 steals against McAdams and 4 assists in four games.
Turner is the daughter of Blaine and Marlen Turner. Blaine played football and ran track at St. Augustine High in New Orleans and graduated from Southern University in Baton Rouge. He also coached football, track, and softball at Booker T. Washington High in New Orleans. Marlen graduated from Xavier University Preparatory High and Xavier University in New Orleans.
Turner has an older brother, Blaine, Jr., Turner and older sister Thyme Turner. Blaine was a member of St. Joe’s track team, varsity soccer team and as a senior served as student body president after serving as class president for a number of years. Thyme was a member of St. Joe’s volleyball team, was class vice president and class president for multiple years and served as the drum major of the Bruin band for three years.
St. Joe plays at defending MAIS Overall and Class 6A state champion Madison-Ridgeland Academy Friday in a 6A conference game at MRA in Madison.
Mississippi Scoreboard selects a girls basketball player from Hinds, Madison, or Rankin counties each week. Coaches can nominate a player by text or call to Robert Wilson at 601.506.2276.
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
