By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

CLINTON — Hancock multi-sport senior standout Brooklyn Cuevas wasted no time in joining the Lady Hawks softball squad recently after enjoying a stellar season on the basketball court.
But, the William Carey basketball signee is swapping her glove back to her sweet shooting touch for a few more days to end this week as she wraps up her prep basketball career.
Cuevas was selected as a member of her home state team to compete in the prestigious Alabama/Mississippi All-Star Basketball Classic contest set for Saturday at A.E. Wood Coliseum on the campus of Mississippi College.
Cuevas along with players on both the girls and boys squads arrived here Thursday to begin practice for the 34th annual affair. The girls game is set to tip off at Noon with the boys game to follow.
“I am very humbled to be playing with the best seniors in our state for this all-star game,” Cuevas said, just before arriving on the MC campus. “It’s a great way for me to end my career. Although we didn’t achieve my ultimate goal of a state championship, I believe we made our mark and Hancock basketball is here to stay.”

Cuevas wrapped up her Hancock High career last week, as the Lady Hawks finished with an impressive 30-2 overall mark and one step shy of playing for the Class 6A state title. Hancock was beaten in the Final Four semifinal round by eventual state champion Neshoba Central in Jackson at The Mississippi Coliseum. The Lady Rockets went on to take the Gold Ball three days later.
Cuevas was a stalwart for HHS head coach Jamie Sisco for the past two seasons in helping guide the Lady Hawks to a 20-0 start as a junior and she had the biggest hand of any player in guiding Hancock to a 57-5 record over the past two seasons.
“”It’s no secret why Brooklyn has become the player that she is…she’s coachable and working harder than most when nobody is watching.” Sisco said. “The amount of time she works on her own outside of our practice is what separates her in terms of skill. The heart of a champion and the will to win is something inside of her, and I am not sure you can coach that all the time. It starts at home with her and we just do our best to help put her in good situations. You won’t find a better kid and teammate than her either, and I would almost guarantee her teammates would agree.”

Cuevas has been the focal point of opposing defenses for most of the past two seasons, but especially this year. Still, she managed to still get all of her teammates both inside the lane and on the perimeter involved while double and even tripled-teamed at times, and she still was talented enough to create her own scoring opportunities even though that may not always be her intent.
Cuevas led the Lady Hawks in scoring in each of the past two seasons.
“To be picked among our entire state is an honor because there are so many great players across Mississippi,” Cuevas added. “I couldn’t have done this without my great coaches and teammates.”
After leading the Lady Hawks to a 17-0 record to begin her senior season, Cuevas and Hancock suffered its only loss of the regular season in a close 44-41 defeat to Hoover High in the annual Tangle on the Trail Tournament in Pontotoc. Hoover, a perennial power in Alabama, just won its third consecutive Class 7A state championship.
The Lady Hawks then reeled off 13 straight wins before falling to Neshoba Central, and the Lady Rockets finished 32-1 overall. So the only two losses on the season for Hancock came to the Class 7A state champ in Alabama and the Class 6A state champ in Mississippi.
“Part of our success at Hancock has been our youth leagues and our middle school program,” Sisco added. “We have the best there is in those areas and I always keep my eyes on it while also staying out of the way. but I knew Brooklyn would be special a long time ago watching her come up. It was not an if, it was simply when. She has always been competitive, she could always shoot it, and her inner circle has always made sure she stayed on the correct path regardless of outside noise of any kind.”

That’s evidenced by her performance in the Region 4-6A Tournament championship game several weeks back when she poured in a career and game-high 34 points in a 58-41 win over Pascagoula on a neutral court at Picayune.
Cuevas continued to excel in the regular season and postseason even after having to adjust her role on the team just after the first of the year when the Lady Hawks lost versatile junior standout Anslee James for the rest of the season due to a knee injury for the second straight year.
Cuevas was honored as the Region 4-6A Most Valuable Player of the Year and was in heavy contention for the “Miss Basketball” award in Mississippi as well.
She followed that powerful Pascagoula performance up with an equally masterful outing against visiting West Jones in the opening round of the Class 6A South State playoffs by pouring in a game-high 33 points, including a career-high seven 3-pointers, in a dominating 62-48 win over the Lady Mustangs.
Eight days later, Hancock hammered Jackson Forrest Hill 74-45 in the Class 6A South State Quarterfinal round to punch its ticket to the Big House as Cuevas again dropped in a game-high 33 points.

She averaged 27 points per game in five postseason games.