Myah Taylor, Best of MS Preps: Female Athlete of the Year Award

From ClarionLedger.com



Myah Taylor’s season began with her visiting Mississippi State, the burgeoning Southeastern Conference power that made it clear there was no one else it wanted to be its point guard of the future.

Her 2015-16 season proved why: Taylor lit up basketball courts at Olive Branch and wherever else she went in Mississippi. The 5-foot-7 point guard scored 30 or more points 10 times, including a season-high 47 against Horn Lake on Feb. 19, and averaged 26.1 points.

This was not a case of a guard putting up too many shots because she was just so efficient. Taylor shot nearly 50 percent from the field and 39 percent from 3-point range for the 25-3 Conquistadors, who advanced to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.

She also did plenty of other things, averaging 6.9 assists, 5.8 steals and 4.1 rebounds, which means she raised her scoring average by eight points and nearly a full steal more than her sophomore season.
It’s no wonder that ESPN ranks Taylor as the No. 42 prospect in the class of 2017.

“She’s a phenomenal athlete that’s been blessed with a talent she is making the most out of,” former Olive Branch coach Blake Jones said. “She knows she’s smaller than your average big-time guard, but she makes up for it with her work ethic, her training, the time she puts in the gym. I guarantee you she puts more time into the gym than anybody in the state of Mississippi.”

Said Taylor: “I realized that the more I make my teammates’ jobs easier the more it makes my job easy.”

That approach is working out for Taylor, and for Olive Branch — and Taylor still has more season remaining to show off her skills and build a reputation that will live on in Mississippi girls basketball history.