Berniya Hardin didn’t expect to win anything when the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference handed out basketball awards before the start of its postseason tournament.
And she didn’t win an award. She won three.
The Tougaloo College guard out of Columbus High School by way of Meridian Community College was pleasantly surprised when she was named second-team all-conference, first-team all-defense and, perhaps best of all, the conference’s Newcomer of the Year.
“It was a big surprise when she got those awards, because nobody knew about it,” said her mom, Tabertha Hardin. “She was the only one who got three. She was very shocked.”
Berniah admitted as much.
“I didn’t expect it,” she said, but she did have a favorite of the three: newcomer. “Because I was selected out of all the newcomers.”
Despite playing on a team that went 9-19 overall and 2-6 in the GCAC, an NAIA conference of five private HBCUs located in Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee — there will be eight members beginning next year — Hardin stood out to other league coaches. She averaged 10.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game as a 5-foot-7 guard, adding 2.2 assists and 2.0 steals per game.
She scored a season-high 25 points against Oakwood. Her other top statistical efforts include eight rebounds (twice, against Fisk and Dillard), nine assists (against Wiley) and five steals (against Philander Smith). She also blocked 11 shots.
Hardin was Tougaloo’s leading scorer 13 times, including one stretch during which she led the Lions in points four times in five games, capped by the 25 against Oakwood on Nov. 20.
A standout softball player, Hardin considered pursuing that sport in college, but because the seasons overlap she had to choose. Why basketball?
“I wanted to be inside,” said the former outfielder and second baseman.
Playing inside at Meridian, Hardin was part of a team that turned an 8-15 season her first year into an 11-4 campaign her second year. When it came time to pick a four-year school, basketball didn’t even enter into the equation.
“I hadn’t even heard of the college until I started doing research,” Hardin said of the college with fewer than 1,000 undergraduates in the Tougaloo section of Jackson. And her research wasn’t about Bulldogs basketball.
“I was interested in law school,” said Hardin, who plans a career in family law. “They have a good program to prepare me.”
Hardin is doing her part; the political science major said she has a 3.5 GPA.
Tabertha Hardin was happy with Berniya’s decision. Mom went to every home game during Berniya’s time at Meridian, and she is able to continue following her daughter’s career on the court.
“Because I’m down here in Jackson, it was a lot better for me,” Tabertha Hardin said. “She is closer, so I don’t have to take off work.”
Surprisingly, the younger Hardin said she didn’t have much confidence coming out of high school, but she attributes that to being less focused on basketball because of her plans to play softball. Leadership and knowledge of the game are also things she says have improved since her high school days, and that maturity is part of the reason she is not down about the Bulldogs’ record this season.
“We were a new team, so we were learning to play with each other this year, but we finished strong at the end,” she said. “We only had one senior and 10 transfers and two freshmen.
“Next year is going to be our year.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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Berniya Hardin works against a defender during a Jan. 20 loss to Dillard in Jackson. Hardin scored a team-high 14 points in the game. Submitted photo
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