Thanks to St. Elizabeth Healthcare Sports Medicine for sponsoring our girls’ high school basketball coverage once again this season. See all of our girls’ basketball stories here and watch for state tournament coverage March 8-12 from BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University.
By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Beechwood basketball player Ally Johnson is closing in on the 2,000-point mark in career scoring, but the senior guard has another goal in mind. The last time her team made it to the 9th Region girls’ basketball tournament was 1999 and she wants to end that long layoff this season.
Beechwood senior guard Ally Johnson
“That would be amazing,” Johnson said. “I think we could get more respect from other programs if we got to the regional and got to play there. And if we got there I think we’d have a pretty good opportunity to win a game or two.”
Beechwood closed out the December portion of its schedule with two wins in the Stephanie Wilson Memorial Tournament at Bellevue this week to even its record to 6-6. Johnson scored 26, 34 and 24 points in those three games and now has a career total of 1,897 in five seasons as a varsity starter for the Tigers.
No one is sure what the career scoring record is at Beechwood. There’s a good chance that Johnson has already broken it, even if she doesn’t get the 103 points she needs to reach 2,000.
“I would be super cool to get that (2,000 points) and get more recognition for the girls’ team at our school,” she said. “That’s the main reason I want to get that, so people will acknowledge that the girls’ program at our school is legit.”
Johnson has already accepted an NCAA Division I scholarship from Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. With her future set, the main thing on her mind is leading her team to new heights this season.
Beechwood is one of the smallest schools in the 9th Region and the girls’ basketball program hasn’t been able to match the talent level at most other schools. The Tigers have made only two appearances in the regional tournament since 1975 and lost in the first round both times.
But that didn’t stop Chris Gramke from taking the job as Beechwood’s head coach this season. He knew about Johnson from seeing her play in AAU club basketball and found out there were other talented players on the Tigers’ roster.
“I knew it was a great school district and I knew we’d have good kids,” Gramke said. “There was an interest to build the program and that’s what really attracted me. The administration seemed dedicated to that and they’ve been very supportive.”
Gramke is the fourth head coach that Johnson has played for since becoming a varsity starter in the eighth grade. The Tigers’ best record the previous four years was 11-15, but she never considered leaving the school she has attended since kindergarten and the teammates that have become good friends.
“Our school is really good and I didn’t want to give up my education just to play basketball somewhere else,” Johnson said. “I knew even though our team might not be tops in the state we could still be successful, and I could play AAU to get more exposure for college.”
Johnson plays point guard on her AAU basketball team and Bucknell recruited her as a backcourt player. But she does a little bit of everything for the Tigers, including guarding the low post on defense.
“I think it’s a bonus,” she said of her multiple roles on the Beechwood team. “I can improve my rebounding playing down low with the physicality that I’m not used to, so I think it’s helped my game.”
Johnson is currently averaging 20 points and seven rebounds for the Tigers. The team’s other senior starters are forward Lainey Sullivan and guard Kimi Stokes, who’s contributing 13 points per game. Five of the other six players on the oster are sophomores or younger, but coach Gramke put together a challenging schedule to get the team ready for the All “A” Classic in January and the post-season playoffs that begin in late February.
Earning a berth in the 9th Region post-season tournament won’t be easy. Beechwood competes in the same district as Holmes, Holy Cross and Notre Dame. Each of those teams has won a regional championship over the last four years.
“It is kind of a tough district,” Gramke said with a chuckle. “But that’s all right. Our schedule will get us ready. We’ll show up and play everybody.”
