Neelyville alumna enjoying final year on court

It may be soon to pay adieu to a sport she loves, but Three Rivers College women’s basketball player Makenzi Davis has made the most of her time as a Lady Raider.

The redshirt freshman has played in 18 of 20 games this season while averaging 3.8 ppg on 52.1 percent shooting from the field while snaring 3.1 rebounds a contest.

The Neelyville graduate from 2021, has decided that this last month or so of games in the Black and Gold will be her last as she will matriculate to Arkansas State to focus on her degree in elementary education.

“I am not playing any sports and will go strictly go for school,” Davis said. “I will probably end up teaching where I went to school. My mom and a lot of my aunts did that and have a lot of family in the school. (Neelyville) is very special to me, because it did so much for me and I want to give back in that way.”

Davis has been able to enjoy the basketball experience for one last chapter while suiting up in Poplar Bluff.

“It’s been a good experience so far – the team has really grown a lot and I am excited about where we are going in the future,” Davis said. “I just try to play my role, whatever that might be and help the team. I just play hard, rebound and do what needs to be done to be a good teammate.

“A good teammate is someone who is encouraging, uplifting, and willing to help in any way possible.”

Assistant coach Caleb Livingston didn’t hesitate in throwing praise in Davis’ direction.

“Makenzi is everything you want in a player on a team,” Livingston said. “She does the extra work without being asked, shows times ready for work and has no excuses. She’s the ultimate team player whatever we need her to do. Some nights she may not get many minutes, but she doesn’t complain about it – she is always upbeat.

“She’s a joy to be around every day.”

Livingston said Davis would work out in the summer and has learned to adapt to change.

“We got to spend a lot of time together this summer and I noticed how awesome a kid she is and how she gets along with everybody,” Livingston said. “She does whatever we need in practice, the weight room or individual workouts. She’s been awesome to coach.”

The former Lady Tiger enjoyed the opportunity to play close to home.

“People I know are able to come to games and my parents are able to come to almost every game,” Davis said. “It’s really cool to be a part of such a special program. (Going to Three Rivers) came about in December of my senior year. I hadn’t planned on playing basketball, but I always thought if I could play at Three Rivers, I would. I just never knew if it was going to happen or not.

“When they reached out, I obviously accepted because I wanted to do it.”

The allure of playing at TRC was a combination of the locale, the quality of the program, and being familiar with some of the girls on the team at the time.

“I liked the way they played,” Davis said. “I thought it would be a good experience. It was really cool to go to the national tournament and I’ve made lifelong friends. It stretched me as a person and gave me lifelong lessons that will help me when I get a job. Things that will carry with me forever.

“You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable and you have to take criticism. It helps you with little things in life.”