Chapel Hill High girls basketball standout Earnicia Washington signed a scholarship last Wednesday to play at Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Pictured, front row, from left, are Washington's mentor, Jeffrey Fletcher, mother Marcia Washington and father Earnest Washington. Back row, AAU Georgia Pearls coach Darlene Norris, Chapel Hill head girls basketball coach Christopher Long, Chapel Hill assistant girls basketball coach Tammy Couey and Chapel Hill principal Sean Kelly.
(Ron Daniel/The Sentinel)
As a new coach trying to build a team, the 5-foot-7 Washington was one of his tallest players and also one of the most aggressive, so Long pegged her as a small forward, and Long said she has “flourished”in that role ever since.
Thanks to her success at Chapel Hill and with her AAU team, the Georgia Pearls, Washington, now a senior, will get a chance to play at the college level. She signed a national letter of intent last Wednesday to play for Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Washington, who has a 3.5 GPA, will get a “full ride” scholarship from Stillman where she plans to major in biology or pre-med with a goal of becoming a physical therapist while playing at the wing for the Lady Tigers.
Washington had interest from several other schools, including Southern Mississippi, Oglethorpe, Maryville and Fort Valley State.
“All these schools, it was basketball, basketball,” said Washington. “[Stillman] was school and basketball and you still had a more homey type environment. I felt at home when I went there. They made me feel very welcome.”
Washington is entering her third year as a starter at Chapel Hill. She averaged roughly 11 points and eight rebounds a game last year for the Lady Panthers.
Though her size is more suited for a guard or wing, the energy she brings to the game has made her a very effective forward for Chapel Hill and the Georgia Pearls.
“I’m underestimated for my size,” Washington said.
Darlene Norris, who coaches Washington on the Georgia Pearls from March to July, agrees.
“She’s an impact player and she has the capabilities of coming into the game and changing it,” Norris said. “She plays bigger than what she is. She’s a rebounder, but she’s a guard. She’s not a ‘tweener,’ she’s a big guard that plays inside.”
In addition to basketball, Washington is active in the community with her mother, Marcia. She has worked with “Hosea Feed the Hungry” every holiday since she was in middle school.
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