Shooting Star: French Settlement’s 2,000-point scorer Stella Allison shaped for success
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
When her mother asked whether she wanted to be part of a cheer team that supported a local youth football league, Stella Allison said she wanted to be like her three older brothers.
All of three brothers were part of a Pee-Wee organization in the Galvez area of St. Amant, a league where Allison’s father coached and welcomed his then 4-year-old daughter to his 5-year-old team … as a player.
“I wanted to be like my brothers,” Allison said.
Allison was her team’s quarterback a year later, the result of her athleticism and ability as the only one on the team to complete forward passes. She also played wide receiver and was a mainstay at running back, moving up the ranks to the third-highest league by the time she turned 10.
She decided to bow out in part because of the size of the opposition when boys were beginning to hit their growth spurts.
“It was the right move to start focusing on softball,” she said. “Football wasn’t going to be a long-term thing. Growing up playing football, you had to be aggressive. Growing up with three older brothers, everything’s a fight in the house, whether it’s for leftovers in the fridge, a pair of socks, or the TV remote. You had to fight for it.”
That aggressive nature and passion for competing have been hallmarks for Allison, who’s matured into a two-sport standout at French Settlement in Livingston Parish. The 5-foot-8 senior, who decided to focus solely on basketball this season, has helped the Lady Lions (12-1) to an unofficial No. 1 power rating in Division III non-select and the school’s first Livingston Parish Tournament championship in 26 years.
She’s eclipsed 2,000 career points and also became the school’s first Division I signee with her signature to play basketball at Northwestern State.
“I’ve been watching Stella play since the seventh grade,” said Jake Bourgeois, who coaches both of French Settlement’s boys and girls teams. “As a small 2A school we try to play all of our games on the same night, to get a good crowd in the gyms. It’s been fun to watch her develop.”
Allison, one of five seniors on this year’s French Settlement team, is appreciative for all of those who have poured into her career.
“None of this would have been possible without all of the people around me every single day,” said Allison, an honor roll student and senior class president. “My family, my brothers … I am thankful to them. If it wasn’t for them, I probably wouldn’t be playing sports. I was naturally athletic, and they kept me in the game and made me start liking sports.
“To all of the coaches that have played a big role,” she said. “All the supporters in the stands, my teammates. To reach 2,000 points (2,139) wouldn’t have been possible without them passing me the ball. I’m thankful to them for always having confidence in me being able to make those shots.”
Bourgeois has had the rare opportunity coach all four Allisons, an era that began with Gannon, Edward, and Maxwell all making their marks at French Settlement. Gannon also excelled in baseball, signing a scholarship with Nunez Community College in Chalmette, while Edward, a current member of Bourgeois’ staff, was a 2,000-point scorer, and Maxwell, a 1,300-point scorer, also provides assistance to Bourgeois.
“We all knew she was talented at a young age, but she had no choice,” Bourgeois said. “She grew up with three older brothers that I’ve had the privilege to coach. You can see that fire, that physicality and aggressiveness come out on the basketball floor.”
The competitive spirit within the family’s household proved to be a driving force for every sibling, and Stella was no different.
“I wanted to be better than them,” she said. “I’ve been told that I am better than them.”
Stella was a regular when her brothers played and usually accompanied them to practice, taking advantage of the opportunity of getting on the shooting machine and worked on her game.
There were similarities amongst the quartet from the fact they were generally guard-oriented, capable of handling the ball, and shooting from the perimeter.
“Edward was a fast point guard, and he could shoot,” Stella said. “Really, all of us can shoot. Edward played faster than Maxwell, who was also under control and played fundamentally. I’m a mix of them. I can play fast whenever I want to and then get to a spot or spot up and shoot as well. Maxwell was the hardest worker in the family. He would go to the gym for three hours, working on his speed and becoming a better shooter. Just better at everything. It made me want to come to the gym every day and work hard.”
Bourgeois, then the boys’ coach at French Settlement, first coached Stella and a group of his current team in the seventh and eighth grade during AAU competition.
He not only watched them grow, a team that included his own stepdaughter, junior Ava Acosta, but saw the infancy stages of a star-in-the-making in Stella Allison, who began her high school career in the seventh grade as a reserve.
“It’s been great to watch her get better and better through the years,” he said. “You knew she was super talented from a young age. It’s been fun to watch the girls around her come out of their shells and watch them blossom into big role players around her and do a great job of supporting her over the last couple of years.”
Allison’s association with AAU was maybe the key that unlocked her true potential. She competed favorably against some of the top players in the region and nation, improving her game and eventually gaining the attention of college coaches and earning scholarship offers.
“This recent year, I played against the No. 1 team in the nation twice,” she said. “Playing against great players is only going to make me better and gives me a little taste of what college is going to be like. All of these girls are getting recruited by Power 4 schools like the SEC, Big 10 or Big 12. I’m grateful for the opportunity to play against them because it’s only going to help me in the long run.”
The alliance with Bourgeois has also played an important role in Allison’s development. He acknowledged her true talent and ability to play at a high level, but was never quiet about the steps it required for her to get there.
“I’m not easy on anybody if you ask my players,” Bourgeois said. “I’m hard on the best player on down. I’m especially hard on the better players because you know what they’re capable of, and whenever they’re not doing what you expect out of them, you can get onto them. When you hold your best player accountable, the others know that you hold them accountable as well. She didn’t understand why I was so hard on her all the time. It’s all from love and trying to make her a better player overall.”
Allison said in the initial stages that warming up to Bourgeois was a challenge.
“There may have been a little wilting at first,” she said. “But I’ve learned to take everything he says and use it in every game. There’s been those talks coming out the locker room, learning the difference between that the yelling was for a reason, a tough love situation.”
Allison’s exhibited the capacity to be coached hard and still respond in a positive manner. Over the course of her career when the points were adding up, she was also developing into the kind of team-first player and leader her coach always envisioned.
“I know some people probably see me as a scorer,” she said. “It goes a lot farther than just putting a ball through the net. It means more to me to be a great teammate. Just picking them up when they’re down or being a leader and talking. Having that positive energy all of the time. Showing up to practice every day with a smile on my face. It may be a quiet practice, and I want to be that light in a dark room.”
Northwestern State was among a group of schools that offered Allison, along with Loyola-New Orleans, Nicholls State, Southeastern Louisiana, the University of New Orleans, and Texas Woman’s University.
Allison said her official visit to Natchitoches, where she has family, proved to be the deciding factor to sign with coach Anna Nimz’s program.
“My official visit was kind of the deciding factor on where I wanted to go,” she said. “I loved everything about the visit. I’d been to Natchitoches before and had gone to see the Christmas Lights (Festival) almost every year. It’s definitely a familiar place to be. Whenever I got home, there was no hesitation as to where I wanted to be and where I wanted to play college basketball.
“It was the eighth grade when I realize it was going to take a lot more than just showing up for practice when it was scheduled,” she said. “It (interest) picked up my sophomore year. I would see all these girls around me getting college offers, going to college camps, and I wasn’t. It was a bit of motivation. It showed that I had to get in the gym, and if I wanted it, I would have to work for it.”
Allison was named all-district for the third straight year, earning the league’s MVP honor, and was selected to the Class 2A All-State second team last season. She averaged 18.9 points a game – including a career-high 41 against Hammond – grabbed 7.3 rebounds with 2.3 steals. She was a 45% shooter from 2-point range, 34% from 3-point land, and 74% from the free throw line.
Her team finished 21-9 overall and, for the third straight year, had their season derailed in the quarterfinals by Westlake, a 39-37 at home.
French Settlement last won a state championship in 1964 in Class B. The Lady Lions, three-time state runners-up, were also the Class B state champions in 1958.
“There’s only one goal for me, and that’s winning a state championship,” Allison said. “We’re all going to work together and do whatever we can to accomplish that. Anything we can, we’re going to work every single day to try and perfect that so that we can reach the big goal.”
With that in mind, coupled with her pursuit of a college basketball career, Allison made the decision after five seasons to give up softball. The infielder was part of French Settlement’s 2023 state championship team, led by standout pitcher Malloy Miles.
“I wanted to focus on preparing myself for college after this season,” she said.
While Allison may be the team’s headliner, Bourgeois has also been cognizant of developing the pieces around her.
During the team’s run to the Livingston Parish championship, Bourgeois was able to move junior Laney Wilson to point guard, enabling Allison to get inside of a zone defense put up by Denham Springs in the final on Dec. 13.
Allison, the tournament MVP, flourished with 29 points on the strength of 4 of 5 shooting from beyond the arc in the 54-42 victory.
Junior Braidy Trabeau provides French Settlement with a low-post presence capable of defending and rebounding, while junior Kloe Parrish is another solid defender. Senior Londyn Crower has been another threat from the perimeter, hitting four 3s in a 62-25 win over Archbishop Chapelle last week. Acosta gives the Lady Lions another shooting threat.
“We’ve had the discussion with the team that Stella can’t be the only one who wants the ball in her hands,” Bourgeois said. “They can’t all look at her to do everything. Whenever you have that one person that does so much, as an opposing coach, it’s kind of easy to dictate a game plan and what to do to slow us down.
“We have a bunch of girls around Stella that allow us to do different things,” Bourgeois said. “We can use Stella as a screener to get other girls open; we can use Braidy through the post. We have different options through the year.”
Part of French Settlement’s run to the parish title included a decisive win over host Live Oak (56-15), followed by a semifinal victory over Walker (50-40).
Allison made 9 of 14 shots from 2-point range, was 7 of 9 from the free throw line, had four steals, three rebounds, and two steals against Denham Springs. Trabeau and Riley Delaneuville both added eight points, and Wilson six.
“It’s relieving to beat not only Denham but Walker,” Allison said. “Since I’ve been at French Settlement, they’ve been a great basketball team, have had a great coach (Korey Arnold). “We’d always lost to them by more than I can count on my hands. It was a great thing to be able to beat them, and to come out on top meant more than anything else.”
Allison passed Dannah Martin’s 2,095 points on Nov. 24th in a 49-19 win over Plaquemine, becoming the school’s second all-time leading scorer. Her 17 points led the Lady Lions, with Trabeau adding 14 and Crowder with 8.
Allison increased her scoring average to a career best 19.6, going into Friday’s semifinal against Sterlington in French Settlement’s own tournament.
Her 4.4 assist average ranks among the top five of the state, and she also averages 4.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals, but she’s focused on achieving the following numbers: 50-40-90.
That would be a reflection of shooting 50% from the field, 40% from 3-point range, and 90% from the free throw line.
“I’m pleased but not satisfied,” she said of her season that includes 49% shooting, 43% from 3-point land, and 80% at the free throw line. “I want to get my free-throw percentage up. It’s something I focused on over the summer. I thought in my head that you could be good at something, but not be really efficient, which is another thing.”
Bourgeois sounds almost like a proud father from where Allison began until now.
“At a younger age, she was more of a role player and spot-up shooter, and as time went on, she’s become more of the focal point of the offense and a playmaker,” he said. “We all knew at a young age she was super talented. I’m hard on her about the details and the small things which she’s going to need at the next level, and what she needs to do to help this team, other than just her physical capabilities of just scoring the basketball.
“It’s been fun to watch her grow as a leader,” he said. “She’s become much more vocal over the last 1 ½ years, a much better leader, and does a great job of bringing energy and effort every day. When your best player is also your hardest worker, and your loudest vocal leader, good things follow.”