Meet The 8th Grade Point Guard Who Made It On ESPN

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Becker girls basketball team lost their state semi-final game Thursday, but one of their players is getting national attention.

Video of eighth-grade guard Mackenzie Kramer showing off some nifty moves in Becker's first game at state went viral.

Mackenzie's highlights were even featured on ESPN's SportsCenter.

"Those are awesome. I don't think I could even do that as a basketball player and I've played since third grade," Becker student Clayton Gallus said.

Gallus is talking about these ankle-breaking moves that Mackenzie pulled out during the first round against Como Park. She came off the bench to score 10 points, along with nine rebounds.

"She's very fun to guard. She's very hard to guard," senior teammate Amanda Lindsay said. "It's been fun to play with an eighth grader who is as good as she is, and I hope the best for her in the next four years."

Mackenzie was blown away to find her performance Wednesday caught the attention of a very influential source.

"We got our phones taken away to focus on the game. I woke up this morning and my coach is like, 'You're on ESPN!' I was like, 'Whoa! Unbelievable!' I didn't expect it," Mackenzie said.

But maybe she should have. During the offseason, Mackenzie still practices full time at home two to three hours every day -- pushing ahead so her opponents get left behind.

"I had season tickets to the Lynx for two years, so Maya Moore and Lindsay Whalen would probably be my two biggest players that I watch," Mackenzie said.

That helps too. But for Mackenzie, practice makes perfect.

"It's not how many hours you put in, it's what you put in the hours," Mackenzie said.

She credits her teammates for pushing her in practice.

Her coach tells us that she often stays after practice to work on the nifty-shifty moves.

Becker will now play for third place at the state tournament.