When Myah Taylor’s senior season began, she had already been named Gatorade Player of the Year twice. She was ranked as the No. 1 player in the state of Mississippi and top 50 in the country. She’d won countless tournament MVP awards and earned the Female Athlete of the Year award for her performance on the court during the 2015-16 season.
Still, Taylor had one more accomplishment to add to the list: become a state champion.
Her four previous seasons with Olive Branch were nothing short of spectacular individually. Her talent on the basketball court was proven year-in and year-out by the accolades she continued to pull in. Every year though her team fell short of winning the coveted gold ball.
Her freshman year Taylor led her team to Jackson and the semifinals, before a broken foot sidelined her for all but a few seconds of the championship game. The next season she again led her team back to the championship, but Horn Lake took the title. Her junior season she again set her sights on the Coliseum and the possibility of hoisting the championship trophy above her head, but Olive Branch lost to Starkville in the second round.
Everything was different her senior season, with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Taylor knew this would be the year they’d win it all. Averaging 23 points, eight assists, five rebounds and three steals per game, the 5-foot-7 point guard led Olive Branch to its first state title in school history. She's also now the first two-time winner of The Clarion-Ledger Sports Awards Female Athlete of the Year award.
“It wasn’t easy,” Taylor said. “There have been some great moments and some sad moments. Very painful moments when my body was sore and I felt like I couldn’t do it anymore. It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t easy at all. But it was worth it. I’m just glad I never gave up.”
Her entire career Taylor has reaped the rewards of her hard work and determination to be the best. On top of winning a state title this season, Taylor earned the Gatorade Player of the Year nod for the third consecutive year, was a McDonald’s All-American nominee and made USA Today’s third team.
If she hadn’t already cemented her place in Mississippi high school basketball history, there’s no question she has now.
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