By Robert Wilson
Riley Hancock did something only a handful of girls basketball players have accomplished in their careers at Madison-Ridgeland Academy, scoring her 1,000th point last week.
Three days later, the 6-foot senior forward had one of the best games in her career with 30 points and 14 rebounds in a 57-52 loss to MHSAA Class 6A Center Hill.
Hancock averaged 18 points and nine rebounds in four games last week at the Dragon Fire Invitational at Collierville High in Collierville, Tenn.
For her outstanding performance last week, Hancock has been named the Performance Therapy Metro Jackson Girls Basketball Player of the Week.
Hancock started the week off by scoring 12 points and scored her 1,000th point in a 50-21 win over Memphis Middle College High. She scored 10 points in a 52-41 loss to Dyer, Tenn., Gibson County High and 20 points in a 78-47 win over Memphis Trezevant High.
Hancock made the all-tournament team in the 16-team event.
“Riley is having a great year and it’s all due to her hard work over the summer and fall,” MRA coach Stephen Force said. “She has worked as hard this off season as any player I have had in my 27 years of coaching. Riley has worked on her outside shooting and really improved her ballhandling. Riley’s aggressiveness and her confidence in her ability to score has increased. Work ethic is what allows good players to become great and there’s no doubt she has recognized that. Riley is one of four players (Rivers Futral, Amber Landing and Haley Cox are the other three) who have scored 1,000 points in my 21 seasons at MRA.”
Hancock is averaging 15 points and eight rebounds and has led MRA to a 15-5 record this season.
Hancock is a member of the PriorityOne Bank Metro Jackson Preseason Elite 11 Team this season. She averaged 13 points, 8 rebounds and 2 blocked shots and led MRA to a 30-6 record and a MAIS Class 6A state tournament semifinal finish last season as a junior. She made third team All-Metro Jackson last season.
Hancock scored a career-high 34 points against MHSAA Class 6A Starkville High last season.
Hancock has offers from Mississippi College and Holmes Community College and is also getting interest from Division I Central Arkansas and has an official visit to Division I Tennessee-Martin this weekend, Force said. The UT-Martin coaches were at the tournament last week and saw Hancock for the first time in person.
Hancock’s father, Roger Hancock, played defensive back at Tri-County Academy and Ole Miss.
MRA’s next game is Saturday at Greenville Christian.
