At one point late in Thursday night’s win against First Academy-Leesburg, the Hernando Christian Academy girls basketball lineup had an extremely familial, if not familiar feel. Four of the five players all had the same last name, and it was no coincidence as starters Mary and Milly Jackson were joined by their younger sisters Abby and Esther during a brief stretch of the fourth quarter.
“It’s kind of the joke that we can maybe get a Jackson 5,” Milly Jackson said. Funny as that might sound there is actually an even younger sister, and an older one, and four brothers, including sophomore Joe Jackson, the leading scorer on the boys team.
But at the moment it’s the senior point guard Mary and freshman forward Milly, the third and fifth oldest of the 10 siblings, who have done some heavy lifting for the Lady Lions as they got off to a 5-0 start before losing to Tampa-Carollwood Dayon Friday. “Mary’s really our leader. She’s the general out there, obviously being point guard,” HCA head coach Mike Drummond said. “When she’s on the floor just making good decisions, getting the girls where they need to be, directing traffic, she does a really good job with that. “Milly, since she’s been in middle school, she’s only a freshman; just really, really got some instincts around the basket. Rebounding and getting herself in good position to make shots, and just hustle. Those girls hustle and they bring up the rest of our team. They do a good job for us.”
The statistics say it all, as Mary Jackson leads the Lady Lions in scoring at 10.6 points per game plus 3.0 steals, followed by Milly Jackson at 9.8 points to go along with team highs of 9.0 rebounds and 4.5 steals. They’re a big reason why HCA has come out of the gate strong, in pursuit of the first district title in program history after advancing to regionals as a district runner-up in 2008, 2012, and 2014.
“All four years that I’ve played here we’ve always lost that first game,” Mary Jackson said. “So to come out, play real hard and win the first one was a great energy and attitude booster for everyone. Really put us on the right track for the rest of the season.”
“We’ve been doing really good,” Milly Jackson said. “We put a lot of energy into the games and I think that’s one of the reasons we’re doing so well.”
Despite their age difference, this marks the third season that the two have suited up together for the Lady Lions. Since HCA teaches K-12, it can call up its middle school players to the high school roster, thus allowing Milly Jackson to play on varsity in both seventh and eighth grade.
Over those two seasons as a middle-schooler, she posted respectable numbers: 6.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.2 steals as a seventh-grader, and 6.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.5 steals as an eighth-grader.
“They helped me a lot, actually,” Milly Jackson said of the last two seasons. “At first I was kind of a little bit scared. But I loved the challenge. In my house, we’ve always been sports-oriented. At our house it’s either play with the big kids or you can go sit out. It hasn’t really been that much different… It’s been really, really amazing. I’ve had lots of opportunities and I love playing with my sister. She’s one of the main reasons why I love basketball so much. I probably wouldn’t play it as much if Mary didn’t love it so much.”
“It’s been really great. Playing with my little sister is a great opportunity to teach her everything that I know,” Mary Jackson said. “We bond on the court.”
Across three-plus campaigns with the Lady Lions, the elder Jackson is averaging 7.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and an eye-popping 5.2 steals. Her career total of 339 steals is a school record. But as a point guard her contributions go beyond the numbers.
“She’s kind of our team leader. Even when she was a junior, you could kind of tell. When Mary’s on the court everyone calms down a little bit,” Milly Jackson said. “Even though we had other seniors, Mary was kind of the one we looked up to.”
Milly Jackson plays more of a post player’s game, and she set a school single-game mark with 23 rebounds against First Academy-Leesburg two seasons ago. She said her father jokes that her ability to box out developed from the first-come, first-serve rules of such a large family.
“When I’m down there, I have a chance to be a little more physical,” Milly Jackson said. “My middle school coach, Coach (Myk) Heald, he taught me see ball, get ball. That ball is mine. When you’re in the wing, you don’t really get that chance to get down there and get it.”
For Mary Jackson, as her time with the Lady Lions comes to a close, she’d like to finally lay claim to that district crown. “We’re in a new district this year and I think we have a pretty good chance to take home the trophy,” Mary Jackson said. “That’s our goal this season. That’s what I’ve been communicating to the girls throughout the season. That’s what we came to do, we’re going to work hard and we’re going to get it. Not getting it isn’t an option for me. It’s going to take a lot of work and we’re going to have to win. Not settling for second-best I think is our key. We can’t just be happy with where we’re at right now. We’ve got to work toward our goal and not accept the minimal.”
“I love playing with Mary,” Milly Jackson said. “She’s definitely my rock. When I’m in the game I always panic. Mary’s there to calm me down. Win a district championship for her is extremely important to me. In every game whenever I want to hang my head or I want to give up, I always think ‘This is Mary’s last year, Mill. You’ve got to push through it.’ ”
Mary Jackson added that she would like to try to play at the next level come next season. Meanwhile, Milly Jackson will assume the role of older sister, mentoring her younger sisters as they work their way up the ranks. “I’m looking forward to it,” Milly Jackson said. “But I know that I’ll miss Mary a lot, and it’ll be a lot different.”