April 24, 2024
Sandy Puckett Keenan of Rose Hill joined an elite group of athletes as members of the 2024 class of the Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame during ceremonies held Tuesday, April 24, at the Muse Center in Pearl.
A member of the 1966-67 and 1967-68 East Central Community College Lady Warrior basketball teams, Keenan and the lady Warriors saw immediate success during her freshman year with numerous victories including those over several outstanding senior colleges. She averaged 27 points per game.
During her sophomore season, East Central hosted and won the ECJC Tournament. Against Mississippi College on their home court, Keenan scored 54 points, which is a record that still stands today as the most points scored in a single game by an East Central women’s player. Keenan served as a team captain and was also the recipient of the Earline Wood Women’s Basketball Award.
Kennan was also a member of the volleyball and tennis teams and participated in intramural sports. She was a team captain and served as president of the women’s intramural program.
She was a member of Phi Theta Kappa, secretary of the Student Body Association, selected freshman class favorite, sophomore homecoming maid, Miss ECJC, and was named to the ECJC Student Hall of Fame.
Prepping at Scott Central High School, she was selected All-State, All-South State, All-District, was named Most Valuable Player in the conference tournament, and was the leading scorer in the MAC All-Star Game.
During her senior season, when the game was only 32 minutes compared to today’s 40 minutes and there was no 3-point shot, she averaged 36 points per game. She eclipsed 50 points per game on three separate outings and outscored the total of the opposing team 10 times during that season. Her season high was 57 points that year, a record which stood for several decades.
Keenan attended Mississippi College and played basketball for one year before she opted to focus on academics. She completed her master’s degree at Southeastern Louisiana and completed an Education Specialist degree at Mississippi State University. She served as the high school counselor and district test coordinator for the West Jasper School District in Bay Springs until her retirement.
Scott Central retired her No. 10 jersey and she was later inducted into the Scott County Sports Hall of Fame and the East Central Community College Athletic Hall of Fame.
