Words used to describe Commerce High School sophomore Lacy Brough include” Energizer Bunny”, “gnat”, and “pest” depending on whether it’s a friend or foe that describes her activities on the basketball court.
“She just doesn’t stop,” said her coach since the sixth grade Brooke Jackson. “She’s a very gifted athlete and puts in hard work every day. She placed fifth in the state in cross country this year in her first year of competition and went to the state track meet last spring where she placed fourth in the long jump.
“She’s a phenomenal soccer player though she’s decided not to play in high school. I compare her to the Energizer Bunny and other coaches call her a pesky gnat on defense. She’s a very positive influence on a team full of seniors and that makes everyone around her better.”
Lacy will be the two-guard this year on a senior-heavy team after averaging about 16 points a game last year and she has a goal of topping 30 points in a game this year after hitting 29 last year with a long term goal of reaching the 1000 point career mark this year or next.
A team goal for this year is to at least make the area tournament which this group of seniors that Lacy plays with has never done.
Though she’s short in stature, she doesn’t play that way according to her coach.
“She’s only five-foot-one but I have her jump center most of the time and over half the time she wins the tip against kids much taller than her,” said Jackson.
Lacy attributes a lot of her development to her grandmother.
“She coached basketball for many years so she’s really helped me develop my skills,” Brough said.
While her parents are very supportive of her, Jackson says that Lacy is very independent and self-motivated in her approach to athletics so she doesn’t have to rely on them so much to push her to do the extra work.
Maybe the way she talks about good character is a good example of her maturity.
“Athletics is mental as well as physical and if you have a bad attitude or character off the court, that will also show up on the court and keep you from doing your best,” said Brough, who
carries a 4.0 GPA and is also president of her sophomore class.
