Houston's Jayla Hemingway, Mississippi State signee, off to stellar start in senior season

Jayla Hemingway was so advanced as a fourth-grader that middle-school boys from the YMCA in her hometown of Suffolk, Va., would ask for her when she didn't show up to play. 

She was about a foot taller than other girls her age and had a natural way of moving about the court. But she had a glaring weakness. She couldn't make a layup with her left hand. She was, in her words, "allergic" to it.

Consider her cured. These days, the senior guard is etching her name in Houston High history. 

Will third time be the charm for a state title?

Hemingway's senior season got off to a terrific start. She signed with Mississippi State in November. Then she broke Houston's all-time scoring record in a Dec. 11 win over Mitchell, passing Cher Dyson's mark of 2,076 points. Hemingway now has 2,225 career points and counting. 

"It's a good accomplishment. It's not something I like dreamed about or anything," she said of breaking the scoring record. "But it's something that I'm very proud of."

She’s averaging 22.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.9 steals this season, and she has the Lady Mustangs (15-2) in prime position to advance to the state tournament again. 

The 5-foot-11 guard, a three-time first-team all-state selection, already has led Houston to two state semifinal appearances.

"The run she put together last year, she put us on her back,” coach Ben Moore said. “We played Central in the region semis and really had no business winning, and she had 35 points and 18 rebounds. Just a monster performance."

“And that's what separates good players from great players. Can they put people on their back when they have to and have their biggest performances in big-time games? She's done that time and time again."

But the Lady Mustangs came up short in last year's 77-50 loss to Riverdale in the Class AAA state title game.

"That's been our Achilles heel for basically the last two seasons, just not being able to finish," Hemingway said. "We just need to be able to get through that last bump in the road." 

What Jayla Hemingway brings to Mississippi State

Hemingway said that she picked Mississippi State because she got along "instantly" with coach Vic Schaefer and that playing in Starkville was the right balance of being away from home but not being too far away. 

Schaefer flew in last weekend to see Houston play Hamilton Heights. Esmery Martinez, a Hamilton Heights forward who also signed with Mississippi State, missed the game while recovering from a torn ACL. 

Schaefer said that Hemingway has a "beautiful" jump shot, but what he is most excited about is her defensive potential.

The defending Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year said that Hemingway reminds him of Dominique Dillingham, a two-time All-SEC defensive team selection who scored 1,013 points and is currently a graduate assistant on his staff. 

"She was just that kid that was our stopper. I had to put her on everybody’s best player one through four," Schaefer said of Dillingham. 

"Jayla reminds me of her a lot. She wants that responsibility of guarding everybody’s best player. She takes great pride in shutting them down and understanding what they’re good at and taking that away from them."

Mississippi State's 2019 recruiting class is ranked sixth in the country, according to ESPN. The Bulldogs signed five players in November. Hemingway, ranked No. 88 in the country by ESPN, is one of three Bulldogs signees in the top 100. Five-star forward Rickea Jackson is No. 9, and four-star guard JaMya Young is No. 98. 

"She plays the game like I like to play," Schaefer said of Hemingway. "I’m excited to get her to Starkville, and I think she’s going to be a really good player for us."