Johnson ‘drives’ Lady Cats

Published 11:48 pm Wednesday, January 11, 2006

There are numerous reasons why the Dalton Lady Catamounts have won 15 of 16 games and are ranked seventh in the Class 4A this season.

It starts with Whitney Mayo, the Lady Cats’ leading scorer, who has verbally committed to play college basketball at Division I Tennessee Tech.

Then there’s junior point guard Lacie Coquerille and 6-foot-4 senior post Stephanie Susen, both of whom are capable of carrying the offensive load for the Lady Cats.

The presence of head coach Jeff McKinney cannot be underestimated, either. McKinney has directed the Lady Cats through several tough tests in the first half of the year.

However, another player that deserves just as much credit for Dalton’s torrid start is junior Jerrica Johnson, the Lady Cats’ top defensive player.

“Jerrica is the eight-cylinder engine for our team,” McKinney said. “She never stops running when she’s out on the court. I never have to worry about her giving 100 percent.”

Johnson, who stands 5-foot-6, is the quickest player on the Dalton roster and leads the team in steals, rebounds and tipped passes.

The fact that she leads the team in all of those statistical categories, plus assists, is no surprise to McKinney.

“All of those are hustle categories,” McKinney said. “There are several factors that go into making a good basketball team and she’s just as much of a factor as anyone else.

“We’re not the same without her on the floor, just like we’d be different if we didn’t have (Mayo) or (Susen). It’s just that Jerrica’s job is to go all out.”

Johnson said she knows and relishes her role.

“My job is to bring intensity and energy when I’m out there on the floor,” said Johnson. “I help bring our level of intensity up by working hard and when people see me doing that, it makes them want to work harder.

“My job is to play defense, get tips and rebound the basketball. Rebounding is big for me.”

Johnson isn’t expected to be one of the Lady Cats’ top scorers, but she’s capable of contributing more, should the need arise.

She had a season-high 14 points in Dalton’s loss at Rome last week and added another nine in a home win over Gordon Central the next night.

“Jerrica’s strengths are going to allow her to score,” McKinney said. “She gets steals that can be turned into layups and because she’s the front person on our press. She gets buckets off other people’s steals, as well.

“Jerrica’s not going to score 30 points a night for you, but she’ll contribute offensively and she’s very unselfish.”

Johnson said she spent a good part of the offseason working on her offense and it’s beginning to pay off.

“I worked on my shooting and my free throws a lot,” Johnson said. “I think I’ve increased my shooting range and it’s showed a little bit in games.”

Even though Mayo, Coquerille and Susen might receive more publicity, Johnson said she doesn’t mind being outside of the spotlight.

“It’s not a big deal if people don’t talk about me as much,” Johnson said. “As long as I’m doing the right things out there and we’re winning, that’s what is most important.”