The area’s best girls basketball player is fresh off a valuable experience.
Tishomingo County rising junior Meg Moore was invited to try out for the 2026 USA U17 Junior National Team. Tryouts took place from May 20-25 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in preparation for the FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup in Czechia in July.
“I didn’t really know what was going to happen or what we’re going to do down there,” she said. “If I do get invited next year, I’ll probably have a better understanding, but it was cool being with some of the top players in the country, and top coaches, just getting better and learning a lot.”
The tryouts included drills and plays meant to prepare those who made the cut for the World Cup. Final cuts for the 12-player roster were made on Saturday, and 10 of those spots were filled by returning players. Moore was not selected to fill one of the two remaining spots.
Through those reps, Moore learned that, while she’s accomplished a lot, there is still plenty for her to work on. That included, but was not limited to, having the ball in the right place at the right time, kicking the ball out when necessary, and attacking in transition.
“If you have the ball, you’ve got to go because you’re probably not going to get it that many times down there,” she said. “Just because everyone wants to score.”
Moore is only a rising junior, but she already has 20 offers from Power 4 schools, including Ole Miss and Mississippi State. It will be a while before she decides where to go to college, but she feels that her experience at the junior national team tryouts will have her ready no matter where she decides to go.
“It kind of just gave me a college experience of being in the dorm and having to check your emails for updates,” Moore said. “So it’s just welcoming me into a new world that I haven’t experienced, the college world, so just having to rely on yourself to know things and know where you’re at, and stuff like that.”
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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 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
