By Robert Wilson
Germantown’s Madison Booker is chasing history and she is three victories from it.
The 6-foot-1 senior guard, Texas signee and two-time USA Basketball Gold Medalist scored a career-high 33 points to lead Germantown to a 67-58 victory over Starkville last week in the MHSAA Class 6A second round at Germantown in Gluckstadt.
Booker made 13 of 20 field goals, 2 of 7 from 3-point range, and 5 of 5 from the free throw line and had 11 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots to lead Germantown to its 14th straight victory and 21st consecutive win against Mississippi teams.
For her outstanding performance, Booker has been named the Performance Therapy/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Girls Basketball Player of the Week.
Germantown has never won a girls basketball state championship since the school opened 12 years ago. Booker, the most talented player in school history, is trying to change that.
Booker was named a McDonald’s All-American, the first Mississippi girl since 2008 and the fourth since the organization started having a girls game in 2002. She is one of 24 players selected to play in the prestigious game. The game is scheduled for March 28 at 5:30 p.m. Central on ESPN2 from the Toyota Center in Houston.
Booker was the Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year as a sophomore. She was the PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Player of the Year for the past two seasons as a sophomore and junior and has been a member of the Metro Jackson Preseason Elite 11 Team this year and last year.
Booker – who is rated No. 3 in the nation in the Class of 2023 by Blue Star Basketball – is averaging 19.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.1 blocked shots for 26-2 Germantown, whose only Mississippi loss was a 57-56 decision to defending MHSAA 4A state champion Choctaw Central. Germantown’s only other loss was a 59-49 decision to Hoover, Ala., 33-1 and ranked No. 13 in the country by Maxpreps.
“Maddie is on a mission,” said Germantown coach Jamie Glasgow, who has been the coach since the school opened and took the Lady Mavs to a 6A state runner-up finish two seasons ago when Booker was a sophomore. “She has really been focused at practice as of late, and it’s showing on the court during the game. Maddie was aggressive to the basket, and she is hard to stop when she has that mindset. I’m proud of the way she has stepped up her play this season.”
Booker averaged 16.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.6 steals and led Germantown to a 24-7 record and a MHSAA Class 6A state tournament semifinal finish last season. She scored a then career-high 30 points against Arlington, Tenn., last season.
Booker – whose father, Carlos, was a 6-10 center for Southern Miss in the 1990s – made official visits to Duke, Tennessee, and Texas. Recruited by the best programs in the country, Booker narrowed her college choices down to nine schools – Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Connecticut, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Oregon, and Texas entering her junior year.
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 as a sophomore. She was first team on the All-Metro Jackson team as a freshman, sophomore and junior.
Germantown plays Center Hill, 19-8, in the 6A quarterfinals Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Mississippi Valley State in Itta Bena. If the Lady Mavs win, they will play against the Madison Central-Gulfport winner in the semifinals Wednesday at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson.
Coaches can nominate players for the Player of the Week award by texting or calling Robert Wilson at 601.506.2276. Only players on teams in Hinds, Madison and Rankin Counties are eligible.
