For the Fairfield Lady Eagles, they have been there…done that. Two of three state titles, multiple wins and ladies playing at the next level. What’s next? Well, there is another first for Fairfield Lady Eagles basketball.
Fairfield Eagle seniors Shadasia Brackens and McKinna Brackens are the first high school athletes on the cover of the Texas Basketball Magazine Fall edition. It is the brainchild of the late Dave Campbell, whose football magazine was first printed in 1960.
Head coach Sally Whitaker explains how the event occurred, “The managing editor of Dave Campbell’s Texas Basketball, Ishmael Johnson, emailed me back in September. He explained that the magazine would be doing their first ever high school ‘Gatefold cover.” This means there will be a cover shot on the outside of the publication and the high school shot would appear directly behind that, attached to the cover page.
The Lady Eagles have been a performer on center stage of the state tournament for three years and this seemed to ignite the interest in the cover story. “I believe his interest dates back to the 2020 championship against Argyle,” added Whitaker, “he experienced that game first hand, so he’s been following us ever since and wanted to feature McKinna and Shadasia.
The ladies have lofted to new heights and have become the team to beat in Class 3A basketball and are the state’s top ranked team heading into season openers. “This year, we will still have that target on our backs, so we know we have to be ready, “said Coach Whitaker,” We are excited to have several new pieces on our team, so it is important to prepare the best we can for each game.
The Brackens cousins are adding to the legend and the Brackens name has been highly revered in the Freestone County area. The girls have a chance to return to the state tournament for all four years of their high school career and will definitely put them in the talk of some of the best to ever take the court, certainly some of the best teams in the state tournament. Coach Whitaker added,” I’m so happy that McKinna and Shadasia will always have this honor to be the first ever high school basketball players featured in this way, and for the attention it brings to our program and our community.”
There have been many awards and accolades for the Fairfield Lady Eagles and their will be many more. This one is an awesome way to recognize the top of the heap in ladies’ basketball and the Fairfield Lady Eagles and the Brackens cousins deserve every honor they can capture.
As a reporter for Fairfield Basketball over the last few years, it is an honor to offer our support to the coaches and players at FHS, and we will continue to cover the Lady Eagles as they go for four Final Fours in Class 3A. Good luck, Ladies and coaches!
Click here for the Dave Campbell’s Texas Basketball online article featuring Shadasia and McKinna.
