By Robert Wilson
Germantown High’s Madison Booker is so talented, she can dominate a game even when she is injured.
Despite injuring her foot in the first quarter, the 6-foot junior guard had 33 points, four 3-pointers, made 13 of 16 free throw attempts, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals in a 66-62 victory over Clinton last week.
For her outstanding performance, Booker has been named the Performance Therapy/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Girls Basketball Player of the Week.
Booker was last year’s Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year, the Priority One Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Player of the Year, and a starter on the Team USA 16-and-under team this summer. She is ranked No. 4 in the nation by Prep Girls Hoops, No. 5 by Blue Star Basketball and No. 6 by ESPN Hoopsgulz in her class of 2023.
But she is out until at least Jan. 24, Germantown coach Jamie Glasgow said. Glasgow hopes Booker will be back for the Clinton game Jan. 25.
“Maddie injured it in the first quarter, but kept playing,” Glasgow said. “She had a knot on it Thursday. The x-ray was clear, but it is tender. The doctor thinks it is just a bruise. She didn’t tell anyone and played the entire game.
“Maddie stepped up last week against Clinton. She did all the little things to help her team win.”
Booker is averaging 17.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.9 assists in 18 games for 16-5 Germantown. Without Booker in the lineup last week, Germantown lost to Pearl 45-41 Friday night and Bartlett, Tenn., 60-38 Saturday. Bartlett is ranked No. 9 in Tennessee by MaxPreps. It was Germantown’s worst loss since losing to eventual state champion Olive Branch 69-44 in the 2020 Class 5A state quarterfinals. Germantown bounced back with a Class 6A, Region 4 victory Tuesday over Murrah.
Booker averaged 18.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.6 blocked shots and led Germantown to a 13-4 record and the MHSAA Class 6A runner-up finish last season as a sophomore. Booker narrowed her college choices down to nine schools – Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Connecticut, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Oregon, and Texas – on Sept. 18. Booker’s father, Carlos, is 6-foot-10 and started at center for Southern Miss in the late 1990s.
Germantown plays host to Madison Central Friday in a 6A-Region 4 game.
