Halle Jamerson joins Senath-Hornersivlle's 1,000-point club

SENATH, Mo. - It was just another Monday morning for Halle Jamerson, except on this day she woke up full of nerves.

It was game day for the junior guard at Senath-Hornersville High School. The night featured a Bootheel Conference and MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 competition against the Malden Green Wave and Jamerson was only 11 points away from her dream of breaking 1,000 career points.

“With my luck, I will probably only have 10 points tonight,” Jamerson joked.

Jamerson walked through her normal routine on game day. She said she wanted to focus on preparing for the game and winning, not necessarily on reaching 11 points tonight.

After knocking down her first shot, a three-pointer from the wing, the Lions went up 3-2 to start the game and Jamerson knew this would be the night she reached 1,000 points.

She knocked down another three, reaching six points.

A few plays later she drew a foul and hit both free throws to bring her within three points of 1,000.

With just under two minutes left in the first quarter, head coach Jerry Songer called a play specifically designed to give Jamerson an open shot.

“I always love that play,” Jamerson said. “I always hope that’s what we will run because I love how that shot feels after we run that play.”

After draining the open three, Jamerson joined a small club of Senath-Hornersville girls to reach 1,000 career points.

She said a rush of emotions came when her coach called a time-out to let her take in the moment.

“There was so much relief,” Jamerson said. “I was so nervous all day, but now it was done and I could focus on doing what I need to do for my team.”

This three-pointer gave the Lions a 13-6 lead over Malden. They would close the quarter winning 16-7 with Jamerson contributing 14 of the Lions’ 16 points.

Songer, who took over the Senath-Hornersville team this season, knew Jamerson would be a key player in his vision of rebuilding the program.

He said when he took over, he didn’t know how good this team would be considering everyone did not come back from last year. However, he knew he could count on the girls who did come back, especially Jamerson.

“Anytime you get 1,000 points, it is quite an achievement,” Songer said. “That is as much of a testament to her as it is to her teammates. [Jamerson] would say the same thing, she can’t score all of those points with her teammates. She works hard, there’s not a shot out there on the court she doesn’t like and I have faith in her shooting the ball. 1,000 points as a junior is pretty good.”

Jamerson’s night did not end in the first quarter. The Green Wave began to battle back in the second quarter and outscored Senath-Hornersville 15-10. They cut the deficit to four points before the half, 26-22.

In the third quarter, Jamerson would be forced to sit with four fouls, leaving the Lions without their top scorer. This allowed Malden to steal the lead, outsourcing Senath-Hornersville again 15-4. Jamerson scored all four of the Lions' third-quarter points before going to the bench.

She would finally come back in the final quarter, but Malden had pulled too far away for Jamerson to aid a Senath-Hornersville comeback. They fell to the Green Wave 57-43.

“Malden was quick and they could sub in quite a few kids,” Songer said. “We don’t have the depth they do so it hurts us when we get into foul trouble, especially against bigger schools. They adjusted well to us and I give Malden credit for coming out here and beating us today.”

The Green Wave had a complete team effort in beating the Senath-Hornersville. They outrebounded the Lions 48-34 and had 27 steals in the game.

Sophomore Carsyn Cohen led Malden with 16 points, nine of which she scored in the fourth quarter. Senior Mariah Loyah was the second-leading scorer with 11 points and freshman Mynena Thornton finished with 10 points.

Despite the loss to Malden, this night was still about Jamerson’s feat. The stands were filled with family, friends and supporters of her 1,000-point (and counting) career.

“That was definitely the best part of tonight,” Jamerson said. “I had no idea that many people would show up. To see that many people in the stands supporting me was the best.”

Jamerson scored 25 points, knocking down five three-pointers and was six for seven from the free-throw line.

With relief and joy, Jamerson is glad to join the 1,000-point club. Now, at 1,014 points, she is ready to continue making history as a Senath-Hornersville Lion.

“I remember as a little girl, coming to these games and watching past plays in my position,” Jamerson said. “To be in this spot is just really cool and to reach that milestone and do this for my school. I just want to keep this momentum going now. Even though we didn’t get the win, I saw a lot of positives. We just have to learn from some mistakes we made and go get the next one.”

The 9-5 Lions' next game will be a home matchup on Tuesday, Jan. 14 against New Madrid County Central, where they will look to get off this two-game losing streak.

Malden, now 9-3, will stay on the road as they travel to Hayti on Wednesday, Jan. 15