Antonito seniors sign letter of intent

Both Tallman and Garcia intend to play for Northern New Mexico

Antonito seniors Erykah Tallman (left) and Joslyn Garcia (right) pose with former head coach Jeremy Romero. (Courier photo by Stephen Jiron)

ANTONITO  — Erykah Tallman and Joslyn Garcia ink letters to take their talent to New Mexico to play for the Eagles.  Northern New Mexico College plays basketball at the DI level in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. From their division in the Association of Independent Athletics head coach Tony Gallegos led the Eagles to a 10-14 record for the 2017-2018 season.

“Thunder and Lightening” have been a dynamic duo in Antonito while they’ve had the pleasure of playing together. Tallman has been a presence in the paint forcing defenses to account for her with a state ranked 12.9 rebounds per game and averaged 12.8 points per game. When the defense gets sucked in to play Tallman, Garcia punishes them from the outside.

Garcia led the team in points per game with 14.9. From beyond the arc Garcia was incredibly efficient hitting 59 percent on 86 attempts. Garcia’s sharpshooting got her recognized at this year’s Arby’s All-Star games when she took home both the honor of the Girls and Overall first place finishes in the three-point shooting competition. Garcia’s accuracy only improves the closer she gets to the basket having hit 82 percent of her shots from the charity stripe this season.

The girls may be taking their talent across state lines but they will most likely be making frequent trips back to the valley. If Northern New Mexico College sounds familiar to sports fans it may be because the Eagles make their rounds through the RMAC fairly regularly. For the past three years not only has NNMC played Adams State they have also made the trip to Plachy Hall every season.