The Eastern girls’ basketball team has lived among the bottom-feeders of the D.C. Interscholastic Athletic Association standings the past two seasons, enduring a pair of winless campaigns.
Friday’s 57-5 win over McKinley Tech on Capitol Hill lifted Eastern to a 17-5 mark with the DCIAA playoffs approaching.
“They’re like blank canvases,” Harrell said of his young team. “So give me a chance to be an artist and paint that picture of what I see for our program, teach those kids, build their confidence up.”
Many of the Ramblers’ key players weren’t around for the drubbings of seasons past. Senior guard Samia Greene started her career at Georgetown Day, then transferred to Shabach Christian Academy in Prince George’s County before moving back to D.C. and deciding that she would prefer to attend a public school for her senior season.
After a long phone call with Harrell, who coached her AAU team in middle school, she enrolled at Eastern just days before the school year began.
“Coming to Eastern was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, especially for my senior year,” Greene said. “I missed the public school environment. … I love the crowd and just playing in an atmosphere like that.”
Greene found her niche in the Ramblers’ offense, in which Harrell has given her free rein. That wasn’t the case during her years playing for a private school. Now Greene’s 21.5 points per game lead the DCIAA. She had a game-high 24 points with four three-pointers — many from well beyond the arc — in Friday’s win over the Trainers (10-11).
Greene and junior Jayme Poindexter, who transferred from Archbishop Carroll, have been the main catalysts of the Ramblers’ offense. Freshman forward Lanaia Martin, who was enrolled at Eastern before Harrell arrived at the program, has shown “all-American potential,” Harrell says, and is still learning to use her 5-foot-10 frame.
“They’re hitting their stride now,” Harrell said. “We have so many kids in the area now, locals, that want to come to Eastern now, so I’m proud about that.”
