By Robert Wilson
Jackson Prep senior point guard and Alabama-Huntsville signee Andie Flatgard is known for her work ethic. In fact, after Prep’s only loss this season at defending MAIS Overall Tournament champion Leake Academy, Flatgard came back to Prep’s gym and shot for a few hours after the game.
Flatgard’s long hours of shooting in the gym has paid off, especially last week.
The 5-foot-6 Flatgard scored 31 points, making 11 of 15 shots from the field, 7 of 8 from 3-point range, and 2 of 2 from the free throw line in 16 minutes to lead Prep to a 73-29 victory over MHSAA Class 5A Callaway. She also had 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and only 1 turnover.
Flatgard also had 17 points, 7 of 16 shots from the field and 3 of 5 shots from 3-point range, with 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals without a turnover in a 62-38 victory over Greenville Christian.
For her outstanding performance, Flatgard has been named the Performance Therapy Metro Jackson Girls Basketball Player of the Week.
“Andie really shot it well last week, especially from the 3-point line,” Prep coach Michael McAnally said. “She got in one of those zones in the first half against Callaway where I think the rim looked really wide to her. And her teammates did a great job of making the extra pass or creating for her off the bounce.”
Flatgard – a member of the Priority One Bank Metro Jackson Preseason Elite 11 Team – is averaging 17.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.2 steals and only 1.3 turnovers to lead Prep to a 19-1 record this season. She ranks second in Mississippi and 12th in the country in points per 32 minutes (24.1) and first in Mississippi and 31st in the country in 3-pointers (52), according to MaxPreps. Flatgard is shooting 45.1 percent from the field, 38.8 percent from 3-point range and 76.7 percent from the free throw line. She is fourth in Mississippi is 3-point percentage.
“Andie has had a terrific first half of the season,” McAnally said. “She is really seeing the fruition of dozens of hours in the gym pay off for her offensive game, particularly with her ball handling and shooting. And defensively, she embraces our team philosophies and prides herself on defending well both on and off the ball.”
Flatgard’s 31 points against Callaway was three points short of her career high of 34 against Central Hinds earlier this season.
Laurel Bane scored a school record 42 points as junior during the 2010-2011 season and also has the school record with an 18.1 scoring average that season.
Flatgard made history in November when she became the first girls basketball player at Prep to sign a scholarship with a four-year college since the 1990s. One night later, Flatgard set a Mississippi record and possibly a national record with seven 3-pointers in one quarter of Prep’s 54-22 victory over defending MAIS Class 3A state champion Clinton Christian Academy at Prep.
Flatgard averaged 14.7 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and shot 36 percent from 3-point range and led Prep to a 24-5 record, a MAIS Class 5A runner-up finish and a MAIS Overall quarterfinals finish as a junior last season. She made second team on the Priority One Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson team last season.
As a sophomore, Flatgard missed the first half of the season after knee surgery in September. She averaged 5.2 points in 21 games, seven starts, once she returned in January and helped Prep to the MAIS Class 5A state title and an Overall runner-up finish.
Prep visits MAIS Class 5A Brookhaven Academy, 21-1 and winners of 14 straight games, tonight at Brookhaven.
