photo by: Chris Duderstadt

Members of the Lawrence High girls basketball team gather for a photo with senior E'Lease Stafford, who signed her letter of intent on Wednesday to play at the next level for East Tennessee State.

Moving from Lawrence to the mountainous terrain of Johnson City, Tenn. is a transition that LHS senior basketball player E’Lease Stafford believes will feature some challenges, but she wouldn’t want it any other way.

After helping turn around the Lawrence girls basketball program over the past four years, Stafford has an understanding of what it takes to battle through adversity. Stafford officially reaped the benefits of her hard work on the hardwood on Wednesday, as she signed her letter of intent to East Tennessee State University.

“I know it’s up in the mountains and everything, but I got along with the players great and I just felt like we had a good chemistry. I got along with the coach (Brittney Ezell) well,” Stafford said. “She said to us that it’s not about basketball. She’s going to treat us as her own, so that really made me feel at home in knowing that I could have someone to come to and lean on without just basketball.”

The family atmosphere in Lawrence coach Jeff Dickson’s program is one of Stafford’s favorite aspects of Lady Lions basketball. The LHS senior is already starting to get the same feel about ETSU. Stafford is good friends with another member of the Bucs’ recruiting class in Notre Dame de Sion senior Amaya Adams.

“I played with her this summer. We’re like sisters, cousins, whatever you want to call it,” Stafford said. “We’re going to be roommates because we get along great and I think we play together great, so it’s going to go well.”

Stafford is joining an ETSU team that posted a record of 20-13 this season. The Bucs were one win away from earning an NCAA tournament berth, as they lost to Mercer in the Southern Conference tournament championship game. Playing in the NCAA tournament is one of many goals that Stafford has set, and Dickson is confident that it will happen.

“With what’s happened on the men’s side this year with Kansas kids getting these opportunities, how exciting would it be to see her on national TV playing for a Final Four,” said Dickson while referencing to Loyola-Chicago’s Clayton Custer and Ben Richardson, who are Blue Valley Northwest products. “I think she’s on the right path to be able to do that.”