We are still three months from the tip-off of high school basketball and senior Elli Chumley has already made her decision on where she plans to play at the collegiate level.
Chumley, an integral part of the Coffee County Central Lady Raider basketball program’s success over the past two seasons, has made a verbal commitment to play for the Freed-Hardeman University Lady Lions at the conclusion of her high school career.
“It is such a blessing and a relief to get this out of the way [before my senior season],” Chumley told Thunder Radio Thursday. “A huge thank you to my parents and just all the coaches I’ve had along the way: coach (Joe Pat) Cope, Matt (Vinson), my dad (Rece Chumley), Amanda (Ruehling), Anita (Gannon) and my AAU coach Jerome Hoosier.
“And I really want to thank the entire Coffee County community. The support here is just amazing and I want to thank everyone here for their support.”
Chumley’s defensive prowess and masterful rebounding make her valuable to whatever team she is playing for. Last season for the Lady Raiders, Chumley averaged 8 points, 3 assists and 9 rebounds per game. She was a 68 percent free throw shooter. She tallied over 200 points and 200 rebounds for Coffee County.
Despite a few options, Chumley said she was able to zero in on Freed-Hardeman for a few reasons – the main one being religion.
“It was not an easy decision at first,” explained Chumley. “The main thing was how they are religiously there. That is just what I am more comfortable with and what I’ve grown up with and I think I would be more comfortable there religiously.
“And they really made me feel at home (at Freed-Hardeman),” Chumley added. “And not just the basketball team but everybody i came into contact with: admissions and people I met along the way were just so genuine and so nice it made me feel really welcome.”
Chumley plans to major in Biology. She is the daughter of Rece and Allison Chumley.
You can hear more of our interview with Elli Chumley below:
