The Tallassee girls basketball season is off to a hot start under first-year head coach Alfonzo Johnson.
Tallassee, which named Johnson head coach earlier this fall, started its basketball season with a big showing at the LAMP Tournament this weekend. The Tigers went 2-0 in the tournament with wins over Sidney Lanier, 48-32, and LAMP in the championship, 38-17.
The 16- and 21-point wins were the two biggest Tallassee has had in a few seasons.
“I think the biggest thing for us was our effort and our attitude,” Johnson said. “I really think we went in with a mentality of trying to change the past and getting better and better every day. Defense is the name of the game for us. We have a lot of girls on our team who really care about playing defense.”
Defensively, the team took pride in playing man defense after a slow start in both games. After not having much of a lead in either matchup, the team went into halftime able to make some adjustments to improve in the second half.
The games were close until the fourth quarter, when the Tigers pulled away for the wins.
That’s much different than the team on the court a year ago that had multiple close games in the fourth quarter not going their way down the stretch.
“We have a lot of experience,” Johnson said. “When you talk to people and tell them you have three ninth graders, one eighth grader and one junior starting, people think you’ll struggle. But all of these girls started for us last year so they’re used to playing.”
A big factor in the 2-0 start is starting point guard Cheyann Easterling.
Tallassee fans already know Easterling as she has been a star on the softball diamond and the volleyball court for the last few years. She is looking to take that role again in basketball as she is the starting point guard.