Acclimating themselves to high school basketball can be tough on an incoming freshman.
Harmony Mills is not your typical freshman.
The Independence standout averaged 27.6 points across her first three high school contests, included a 41-point night against Montcalm in only her second game of the year.
Mills’ play led the Patriots to a 3-0 record out of the gate for a team that won only five games all last season.
Thanks to her stellar play, Mills has been named the Lootpress Girls Basketball Player of the Week to open the 2022-23 season.
The Lootpress Player of the Week Award is sponsored by Mid-State Ford, Bodyworks and The Law Offices of Brandon Steele.
“This feels great, honestly. I am really proud of myself. Thank you so much for giving me this award,” Mills said, smiling. “It has been a lot of hard work.”
After a 20-point night to open the season against Richwood, Mills more than doubled that output against the Generals for a career high at any level.
“In middle school I scored maybe 30 points in a game,” Mills said. “Everybody was setting good screens for me that night which really helped. I also score most of my of points off fast breaks. That is probably where I scored 75 percent of the points.”
In the battle with Montcalm, Independence needed a huge effort from Mills and she delivered.
“We were playing with a skeleton squad that night and she did what she had to do for us to win. That was big of her,” Independence head coach Mark Cuthbert said. “We played really solid defense and created a lot of turnovers, plus we got a lot of rebounds. She was able to get out in transition and she made her shots.”
Cuthbert expected Mills to be a strong player this year, but had to admit her performance even surprised him.
“I have watched her play for several years now from elementary school on up, so I knew she had a real good skill set,” Cuthbert said. “I expected a lot from her when we started out, but I didn’t expect those kind of numbers the first week.”
While she may only be a freshman, Mills knew coming into high school she would be counted on heavily for scoring.
“They told me when I was in middle school that I would play a big part up here at the high school, but it is way different,” Mills said. “I knew when I got here that I had to step it up and try to take control. I try my hardest every night.”
Mills has also quickly realized that big-time scorers also get an accelerated effort from opposing defenses.
After three solid games, Mills battled four and five different defenders against Midland Trail and was held to nine points.
“She is learning really quick that the high school game is a little faster and these teams are going to play her a little harder,” Cuthbert said. “To her credit against Midland Trail, she didn’t pout or anything. She did what she could and got herself involved. She will just have to learn to deal with it and we are going to help her as a team along the way with the scoring.”
The increased defensive pressure was no surprise the the young freshman.
“I was kind of expecting it, but it has been tough,” Mills said. “I really had to work to get past them, but next time I will be ready for that type of defense. It takes a lot of patience.”
Mills also battled some foul trouble in the game at Trail, which was another lesson for her to learn that night.
“She is an aggressive player that plays 100 percent all the time. We can’t get her in foul trouble right now until some of the other kids get their feet wet,” Cuthbert said.
Mills’ influence on her team in such a short time was shown most vividly when the award was given to her at practice Friday night.
While Mills could not hide the smile, her team could not hide its excitement for her as well.
“We put a lot on her plate as a freshman and she had handled it pretty well so far. These girls look to her. Even though she is young, she is a leader on the floor,” Cuthbert said. “She is great player, but she is unselfish at the same time. We have been focusing on a team aspect and they have really bought in to that and being a family.”
Independence is back in action tonight at Man and will play in the Braxton County Tournament Dec. 28-29 in Sutton.
