Meet Coahoma Basketball’s Secret Weapon: Jairya Rankins

Coahoma Community College stands alone as the only Mississippi HBCU currently enjoying sustained success on the basketball court. Sitting at 9–1 overall and undefeated at home, the Lady Tigers are the ones to beat. At the center of CCC’s success? Sophomore guard Jairya Rankins.

A native of Olive Branch, Mississippi, Rankins is an offensive tour de force. Though just 5’8, Rankins can easily hang with taller plays— and beat them. And even though we’re only ⅓ of the way through CCC’s season, she leads the Tigers stats with 137 total points.

Rankins’ unshakeable dependability shows most clearly at the free-throw line, where she has converted 25 of 32 attempts.. Not confined to the free-throw line, Rankins has scored 30 points off of three-pointers, going 10-45 on attempts. Overall, she has made 51 field goals on 135 attempts, giving her a shooting percentage of 37.8%.

A gifted scorer, Rankins also serves as an anchor for the Tigers. Rankins has logged 222 minutes on the court, the second highest on the team. As CCC prepares for its next matchup on January 12, Rankins remains a key reason the Lady Tigers’ undefeated home record looks increasingly difficult to break.

Author administrator Corinne Ellington