All-American Madison Booker drops 33 points to help Germantown past Starkville in 6A Playoffs

MADISON — Put simply, Madison Booker is on a mission.

After coming up short in each of the last two seasons, the state’s top recruit is eager to get over the hump and Friday night was just the start.

Behind the play of Booker, Germantown held off a late Starkville rally as the Lady Mavericks powered past the Lady Yellowjackets 67-58 in the Second Round of the MHSAA Girls Class 6A Basketball Playoffs.

Germantown (26-2) will face Center Hill in the Third Round of the Class 6A playoffs at 5:30 p.m. next Friday at Mississippi Valley State.

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“Madison is on a mission and she’s been stepping up and being a leader and played well defensively and lit up offensively," Germantown coach Jamie Glasgow said. "She’s really trying to get us back to the Big House. We were being too stationary to start the game, and I told the girls we had to attack. And in the second quarter, we did that and started attacking the basket.”

Starkville held a slim 15-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was the difference in this one, as Germantown outscored the Lady Jackets 20-7 to take a 34-22 halftime lead that was highlighted by a 11-2 run midway through.

To begin the third quarter, the Lady Mavericks went on a 9-3 run to stretch their lead out to 43-25.

Starkville began chipping into the Germantown lead and went on a 13-6 run to end the quarter, cutting the Lady Maverick lead down to 49-38.

In the fourth quarter, Booker scored nine consecutive points for Germantown to extend the lead to 58-42.

The Lady Jackets weren't done — they went on a 14-4 run and cut the Germantown lead down to six at 62-56.

But in the final second,  the Lady Mavericks hit five of six free throws to seal the win.

“When they started hitting outside shots, luckily the clock ran out," Glasgow said. "We have got a lot of respect for Starkville. They were a really good team. I’m hoping the experience of us being so close the last two years will make a difference, but you've got to get there first and we've got to prepare for the next one next Friday.”

Booker, a Texas commit, finished with a game-high 33 points to lead Germantown, while Jer’Mya Branson added 13 points and Alana Rouser chipped in 12 points for the Lady Mavericks.

“We just made start turning the ball over more with our pressure and making shots. In the second quarter we figured them out and started to attack,” Booker said. “Had to stay discipline in the second half and making shots and stepping up defensively and that’s what I did. Moving onto the third round is something we’ve done before and we have to stay grounded, disciplined and attack like we did tonight.”

Jamaica Young had 17 points to lead Starkville, while Jada Gay added 15 points and Zariyah Edwards chipped in 11 points for the Lady Yellowjackets (20-6).

“It was one of those were details of the game become magnified this time of the year. They were beating us rebounding and shots weren’t falling and against a team like Germantown you can’t let details like that slip and they made us pay,” said Starkville coach Kristie Williams. “I’m proud of my girls for not giving up and in the second half and gave everything we got and came up short. Future is very bright for us and time just ran out on us at the end.”