By Robert Wilson
This is how talented the Madison Central girls basketball team is.
The Lady Jaguars have three players – senior guard Ayla Benson, senior forward Alilyiah Morris, and sophomore guard Karley Robinson – on the Tatum and Wade/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Metro Jackson Elite 11 team, more than another team.
And this week’s Legacy Theater Flowood/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Girls Basketball Player of the Week isn’t one of those three.
Alayah Bolden, a 5-foot-11 junior guard-forward, averaged 22.5 points (shooting 70.8 percent from the field, 66.7 percent from 3-point range and 100 percent from the free throw line) and led Madison Central to a pair of MHSAA Class 7A, Region 2 victories last week.
Bolden had 23 points (8 of 10 from the field, 4 of 5 from 3-point range and 3 of 3 from the free throw line) with 8 rebounds and 2 steals in a 62-46 victory over Clinton and had 22 points (9 of 14 from the field and 4 of 7 from 3-point range) with 7 rebounds and 3 assists in a 81-68 victory over Oxford.
She is averaging 12.7 points and 4.1 rebounds for Madison Central, 17-4 and ranked No. 5 in Mississippi and No. 3 in MHSAA Class 7A by MaxPreps, going into this week.
“Lay can do it all,” Madison Central coach Jalessa Taylor said. “She’s a well-rounded player who can score at all three levels, and I love her scorer’s mentality. Lay has brought so much to the team this year and has consistently shown up in big games. She’s getting more comfortable every game, and it really shows. Ley has been a huge asset to our team, and she’s only going to keep getting better.”
Bolden was a starter at Brandon last year as a sophomore.
She is the daughter of Corey Bolden and Angela Bobby. Corey played basketball at Forest Hill High and Wesley College. Angela graduated from Forest Hill. Bolden’s sister Jayla Alexander played basketball at Pearl and won a state championship in 2019 and played at Ole Miss and Georgetown University. Bolden’s uncle, Randy, played basketball at Forest Hill and Texas Southern and was the Southwestern Athletic Conference Player of the Year as a junior and senior and finished in the Top 10 in the country in scoring as a senior. He also played pro basketball overseas. He has been head men’s basketball coach at Meridian High, Pearl High, Jones County Junior College, and Mississippi College and is currently coaching at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. Bolden’s first cousin and Randy’s son, Rashad Bolden, played basketball at St. Andrew’s and won three state championships and played at Southern Miss and Mississippi College.
Madison Central plays Tuesday at Murrah in a MHSAA Class 7A, District game in North Jackson.
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
