MEADVILLE — Practice might not make perfect, but for one Franklin County basketball standout, it did get her selected to a prestigious statewide All-Star game.

Franklin County’s Vintrice Briggs has been selected to play in the Mississippi Association of Coaches All-Star game to be played Saturday, July 10, at Mississippi College in Clinton.

A total of 12 rising seniors are selected for the North and South teams, and Franklin County girls basketball coach Charles Moore said Briggs’ selection speaks a lot for not only her ability, but the strength of the Franklin County program.

“It’s a great honor for her to be selected,” Moore said. “She is one of the best players in the state. And it means our program is doing well also.”

For Briggs, the selection was a little bit of a surprise.

“I was excited and honored because I didn’t think I would be picked to play in a game like that,” Briggs said. “Hard work pays off.”

Moore said Briggs has always had a great understanding for the game, but has improved tremendously over the past three years.

“What she brought with her when she got to the program was a great athletic ability and great desire for the game,” Moore said. “What she has done since she got here is refine her shooting skills and stretched her game. She is an inside player who is now able to step outside and knock down threes also.”

Briggs said a big key to her improvement is slowing down and not rushing through things on the court.

“Coach always told me to take my time,” Briggs said. “I used to be rushing all the time, but now I can hear his voice in the back of my head saying ‘Take your time, take your time.’ That advice has really helped me get better.”

Briggs and recently graduated post player Cee Cee Miller were the main cogs in the Lady Bulldogs offense that advanced all the way to the state semifinals in Jackson.

Now, with Miller no longer there, Moore said Briggs will have to step up and become the main offensive threat.

“(Briggs) brought a lot of energy to the court last year as a compliment to Cee Cee Miller,” Moore said. “When teams took away Cee Cee, she was called on to take over and she did. Now she’ll become the main inside threat. She is who we’ll need to go through on offense early in the game to set up the rest of the team.”

But Moore thinks Briggs won’t have any problems adjusting to that role.

“It doesn’t really change a lot that she does, but it just comes with more mental pressure of knowing you’re the go-to girl,” Moore said. “We’ll need her in the game more, so she can’t take chances like she did before. But I know she’ll handle it well.”