Thursday sports page: Hernando’s Fran Kelly named Gatorade Player of the Year
Photo: Hernando guard Fran Kelly has been named the Mississippi girls’ basketball Player of the Year. Kelly led the Lady Tigers to the 7A state quarterfinals this season. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
March 13, 2025 – Gatorade has announced Fran Kelly of Hernando High School as the 2024-25 Gatorade Mississippi Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Kelly is the first Gatorade Mississippi Girls Basketball Player of the Year to be chosen from Hernando.
Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the court, in the classroom and in the community. The award distinguishes Kelly as Mississippi’s best high school girls’ basketball player.
The 5-foot-10 junior guard led the Tigers to a 22-7 record and the quarterfinals of the 7A state tournament this past season. Kelly averaged 26 points, 4.3 steals, 3.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. The Region 1-7A Player of the Year, she was also named 7A Miss Basketball by the Mississippi High School Activities Association.
Kelly has volunteered locally as a youth basketball coach the past two years.
“She is a phenomenal athlete and basketball player,” said Shayne Linzy, Lafayette (Oxford) High School head coach. “She not only displays a high IQ for the game, but she has the ability to make plays all over the court. With all that ability, she still gets her teammates involved as much as possible.”
Kelly has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom. She will begin her senior year of high school this fall.
As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every Player of the Year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner. To date, the Gatorade Player of the Year program has provided more than $5.6 million in grants to winners across more than 2,000 organizations.
Kelly’s award as Gatorade girls’ basketball Player of the Year holds significance to her coach Blake Jones, as well. Jones was coach at Olive Branch when Myah Taylor was named Gatorade Player of the Year, a first for Olive Branch as Kelly is the first-ever selection from Hernando. Jones has become the first DeSoto County Schools girls basketball coach to mentor Players of the Year at two different county schools.
“Unbelievable accomplishment, as the first player in the history of Hernando High School to win this award in basketball, girls or boys,” Jones said Thursday. “Her banner will look great hanging above in the brand new gym and trophy displayed in the new great hall forever at HHS. Her legacy will never be topped.”
Thursday, March 13
Prep baseball
- Magnolia Heights 15, Cottondale, Fla. 0
- The Chiefs scored 11 runs in the second inning.
- Northpoint Christian 15, DeSoto School 0
- KL Farr drove in seven runs on three hits, including a grand slam homer.
- Lewisburg 11, Clarksville, Tenn. 8
- Five Patriots with multiple hits. Six-run fourth inning for Lewisburg.
JUCO softball
- Northwest 8, National Park College 0 (6 innings)
- Northwest 2, National Park College 1
- Northwest record now 19-3
NBA G League basketball
- Long Island Nets 132, Memphis Hustle 118
- Nate Hinton scored 15 points for the Hustle, which have now lost five straight.
The Memphis Hustle (12-15), the NBA G League affiliate of the Memphis Grizzlies,tipped off a five-game road trip with a 132-118 loss to the Long Island Nets (13-15) at Place Bell in Laval, Quebec, Canada on Thursday night, March 13.
Armando Bacot paced Memphis with 26 points and nine rebounds. Mãozinha Pereira scored 17 points. Malachi Smith added 16 points off the bench. Nate Hinton registered 15 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and five steals. Yuki Kawamura totaled 11 points and nine assists.
On assignment from Brooklyn, Dariq Whitehead led the Nets with 23 points. Drew Timme tallied 21 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Oshae Brissett added 20 points off the bench. Tosan Evbuomwan contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds.
After trailing by as many as 15 in the first half, the Nets fought back to tie the game at 76 early in the third quarter. Long Island opened the fourth quarter on a 16-5 run to take a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.
The Nets scored 30 points off turnovers and 25 second chance points. Memphis scored 17 fast break points. The Nets shot 41.7 percent from beyond the arc, making 20 3-pointers. The Hustle shot 54.9 percent from the field.
