By Denise Tucker (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
“Hard work pays off” is anything but cliché for Makaiya Brooks.
It’s what has boosted the Central High School senior guard to the top of the Springfield Public Schools’ basketball scoring list – currently at 2,150 career points.
“It’s an incredibly proud moment to be her coach,” Central coach Caitlin Lamberth said of Brooks. “I don’t take any credit for the accomplishment she’s had. It’s all her hard work, and just the hours and the sweat that she’s put into the gym. I’ve opened the gym for her; I haven’t had to beg her to come in and get some extra shots up. She’s always come in at 6:30 in the morning and stayed late after practice, just so that she could shoot.
“And that’s just a test to her passion and her competitiveness to want to be this good and to want to pass the milestones and the records.”
Heading into Thursday night’s game at Kickapoo, Brooks stood in second place on the SPS list with 2,133 points. The University of Memphis signee needed just four points to break the record of 2,136 points, which had been held by Glendale’s Tara Mitchem since 1996.
It didn’t take Brooks long to tie the record on her signature 3-point shot just under two minutes into the game.
It took a little longer for the record-breaker to come, however.
At the 4:57 mark in the second quarter, Brooks hit a fadeaway jumper from the left wing (while being fouled) to become the SPS scoring record-holder. And, just for good measure, Brooks hit the free throw to complete the traditional three-point play, putting her at 2,139.
“It means a lot,” Brooks said of breaking the record. “It’s crazy because coming in as a freshman, I didn’t know that was a thing. But breaking it, I feel like it sets the tone for my teammates for next year – ‘You guys can do it, too.’”
An early start
Brooks has always had a ball in her hand, since about the age of 3, when she would play with her brothers and follow them to their games.
“My brothers, they got me into playing sports,” Brooks said. “I went to one of their games one time, and I just saw them doing all this stuff. So, I’m like, ‘Oh, I think I would want to do that.’ So, I used to go off to the side during the games and start just mimicking everything they were doing.”
And, she hasn’t slowed down since.
A bright future
When she got to Pipkin Middle School, Brooks first served as the manager for the eighth-grade team when she was in sixth grade. When it came time for her to play, it was evident that her future was bright.
“As a seventh-grader, she was way above everybody else,” said Glendale head coach Trish Marsh, who coached Brooks at Pipkin. “She was a super-skilled kid who could score then and can still score. The thing that I noticed in seventh grade is that she had a lot of experience and knowledge of the game. She would watch games, was a student of the game, and I could really see the potential to be a Division-I player.
“She has lots of passion and works extremely hard. Not a lot of kids eat, sleep and breathe it and she is seeing the fruits of her labor by going to play D-I basketball.”
Marsh has a unique perspective and connection to the current and previous SPS record-holders. Not only did Marsh coach Brooks as a seventh-grader and now coaches against her as the Glendale coach, she also was an assistant coach at Glendale High School when Mitchem set the record and led the Lady Falcons to the Class 4 state championship.
“They are different players, offensively,” Marsh said. “Tara had a signature move – an up-and-under move – that not many had seen. Makaiya is a better 3-point shooter and has the range, so they’ve gotten their buckets in different ways, but both were very successful.
“If I ever wanted to see someone break the record, I couldn’t think of anyone better than Makaiya Brooks. She spent so much time in the gym. The process of her work habit and work ethic have led her to this point.
“You don’t break these kind of records without putting in a lot of time. And, I’ve been on the other side of it trying to stop it.”
Pursuing the record
When she began her high school career, Brooks said shooting for the scoring record never entered her mind.
“Coming into high school, I didn’t know (the record) was a thing until last year, after our last district game,” Brooks said. “Mr. (Roger) King (a para-professional at Central and the voice of Central sports) said, ‘You’re really close to the record.’ I was like, ‘What record are you talking about?’ And then he started explaining it more.
“So, I think from then on, it was kind of a goal, but mostly, it was to win a district championship. But yeah, it’s always been a goal.”
Brooks said she felt a little pressure to break the record Thursday night, but it wasn’t her only goal.
“Just a little,” Brooks said of the pressure, “but really, it was just for the win. It wasn’t in my head to go score those four points. It was in my head to go score, so we can win.”
With Brooks setting the record, all five of the Springfield Public Schools are now represented in the top 5 on the scoring list:
1. Makaiya Brooks, 2,150, Central, 2017-2021 (total as of Feb. 11, 2021)
2. Tara Mitchem, 2,136, Glendale, 1992-1996
3. Kelsie Cleeton, 2,103, Hillcrest, 2011-2015
4. Aubrey Buckley, 1,887, Parkview, 2011-2014
5. Jenny Anderson, 1,755, Kickapoo, 1991-1995
Deb Fine’, who coached Brooks as an eighth-grader and was her history teacher at Pipkin, echoed Brooks’ work ethic.
“Makaiya not only has natural talent, but she worked hard to get where she is,” Fine’ said. “I had no doubts that she would go on to play ball at a D-I school. I am not surprised she has been breaking records along the way.
“Makaiya is also a very good student. She works at keeping her grades up and is committed to doing well. It has been a true privilege to coach and teach Makaiya, see her signing to Memphis and watch her grow into the amazing person she is.”
Making an impact
Even though she may not have been aware of the scoring record, Brooks’ impact on the Central girls’ basketball program was felt immediately.
“From the moment she walked in as a freshman, I knew that she was going to change and turn a lot of heads – and she has,” Lamberth said. “The points are one thing, but when she gets after it defensively, and when she commands her leadership on the court, she changes a lot of things for us.
“She’s had an incredible impact on our program. A lot of the success that we’ve had is a testament to her competitiveness and her willing to want to be the best.”
Not only has she left her impact on Central basketball, but on girls’ basketball in southwest Missouri.
“She’s a role model for little girls,” Lamberth said. “I say that to say (those) who want to get to the level that she’s at and want to compete at a Division-I school, they look to her and say, ‘Well, how do you do that?’ And she can say, ‘You’ve got to put in the work.’”
And, Brooks wants to be that example and the inspiration like her family, trainers and teammates have been for her, as she hopes to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a district championship.
“It’s really important,” Brooks said. “I just want to motivate everybody and inspire them that they can do it. It doesn’t matter where you’re from, where you go to school or how you grew up, just know that you have confidence.”
