By Robert Wilson

       Germantown High girls basketball fans got a glimpse of the future Saturday at the Girls Rumble in the South at Belhaven in Jackson.

       With All-American senior guard and two-time USA Basketball Team gold medalist Madison Booker out of town on a family trip, junior forward Alana Rouser became the go to player for the Lady Mavs.

       The 6-foot Rouser delivered with 23 points, 13 rebounds, 4 blocked shots and 4 steals to lead Germantown to a 44-43 victory over Horn Lake.

For her outstanding performance, Rouser was named the Performance Therapy/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Girls Basketball Player of the Week.

       Not only was Booker – a Texas signee who was averaging a team-high 19.8 points per game this season – out, Germantown was also missing senior guard Sydney Wilder, one of the top players off the bench who was out with a concussion).

       “Alana stepped up in the absence of Madison,” Germantown coach Jamie Glasgow said. “She was a true leader on the court. Alana impacts so many aspects of the game. She gets steals, blocks shots, scores, and plays good defense, and she did them all at a high level Saturday. I am very proud of not only Alana, but also the team for Saturday’s win.”

       Rouser – a member of the PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Preseason Elite 11 team – is averaging 12.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 1.4 blocked shots per game for 17-2 Germantown.

Rouser – who has Division 1 offers from Southern Miss, Alcorn State, Jackson State, Mississippi Valley, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Louisiana-Monroe and Memphis – had a career-high 22 points against defending MHSAA Class 4A state champion Choctaw Central this season and had a career-high 22 rebounds against Brandon last season.

Rouser averaged 10.2 points and 10.1 rebounds last season and helped Germantown to a 24-7 record and a MHSAA Class 6A state tournament semifinal finish last season as a sophomore. She made first team All-Metro Jackson and a member of the Elite 11 last season.

Germantown’s next game is Friday at Madison Central in a MHSAA Class 6A, Region 4 game.