JOHNA BUMGARNER-EUFAULA
She’s a no-nonsense leader on the court with a side of cookies. We’re talking about Eufaula senior Johna Bumgarner, who second-year coach Jason Radomski hopes will be key to a continuing upward surge for the Lady Ironheads.
“Last year was her first to take on serious varsity minutes and she responded by averaging 10 points a game and shooting 34 percent from the 3-point area on over 160 attempts,” said Radomski. “She’s always been a good perimeter shooter, but this year she’s improved her ability to score off the dribble and take it to the rim. With teams geared up to stop her outside shooting this year, it will be important that she continue to have that ability for us to get to where we want to be.”
Johna started off playing both softball and basketball but after ninth grade decided to dedicate all of her time to basketball.
“I like the physicality of the game and the fact that you have to make so many split-second decisions at a fast pace. My parents were athletic, and I have an older brother that played so I started playing in pre-kindergarten,” said Bumgarner who is also involved in the National Honor Society. Johna recalls a couple of big moments in her playing time at Eufaula.
“My freshman year we were in the area tournament against Roland, and the game was tied with 10 seconds to play, and our point drove the ball down and passed off to Kambry Williams who hit the game winning shot. Then last year I had a good game against Silo where I hit four 3-pointers and had 17 points.” As a senior leader this year, Johna admits to being pretty hardnosed.
“I tend to be pretty outspoken as a leader, and I don’t beat around the bush which some people don’t like. I know I need to try to be a little more instructive in my approach and that’s one of my goals this year along with improving my defensive skills and not getting so angry on the court. As for this coming season, we’re not the strongest offensively, but our match-up zone is very good and with some new set plays to take advantage of our height (five players 5-9 or taller) I think that will help us improve a lot.”
As for the cookies? That’s what Johna likes to do in her spare time-especially her caramel apple cookie. Radomski hopes that Johna is part of the recipe for a successful 2025 in Eufaula.
