When the ball flies out of bounds during Dexter Southfield’s girls basketball practice, no one stops moving. That’s because there is no "out of bounds." Not when head coach Tammy Millsaps is in the gym, anyway.
“We have to go for every loose ball,” star sophomore Ella Peper said. “There’s no out of bounds—if it goes out of bounds we still have to run for it. And if we don’t run, we’re on the line and running.”
It’s Millsaps’ first season at Dexter Southfield as well as her first season coaching in NEPSAC. She’s been coaching for more than 20 years, most recently at New London in Connecticut, where she led the girls basketball program to the CIAC title in 2022-23.
“She’s really flipped this whole program around,” Peper said. “You can see it’s only been a few months and we’re already playing really well together, so it’ll just be cool to see midseason when we’ve been together a lot longer.”
Coaching in NEPSAC is an adjustment, but Millsaps has wasted no time identifying her team’s identity.
“Coach Millsaps’ team is gonna play defense,” Millsaps said. “They’re gonna be in your shorts, they’re gonna rebound the ball, and you’re going to have to work to get baskets.”
'I'M AN INTENSE COACH': How Millsaps ended up at the helm of Dexter Southfield
Millsaps takes over a roster loaded with talent, starting with the 6-foot-4 Peper, the No. 4 national prospect in the class of 2028. She is joined by star freshman Avery Bollin, one of the top 2029 prospects in New England.
Peper and Bollin are young, as is much of their supporting cast, and Dexter Southfield finished sixth out of seven NEPSAC Class AAA teams last year. Neither of those things are discouraging for Millsaps.
“(Coach) sets no limits to what we can accomplish,” Peper said. “She always preaches, every day, how far we can get if we just work for it. However much work we put in is what we’re gonna get out of it.”
Here's how Dexter Southfield is approaching this winter.
What does a sophomore leap look like for Ella Peper?
Peper’s freshman season ended with Dexter Southfield losing, 62-51, in the NEPSAC quarterfinals to Tilton. The team ended the season just above .500, and went on a six-game win streak leading into the quarterfinals.
With another year of experience under her belt and brand-new coaching, Peper (Newton, Mass.) is looking to improve those results.
“I’ve been talking to Ella about being a dog, and she understands what that means,” Millsaps said. “All that stuff we’ve been coaching and teaching in preseason has got to come into play in order for us to really excel at the level we need to excel.”
Unlike other high school players with her height that primarily dominate in the post, Peper’s shooting ability allows her to float around the wing, looking for catch-and-shoot opportunities. Millsaps is trying to get her in the paint more frequently, though — especially when she has a smaller guard on her.
“(Coach Millsaps) wants me to be very versatile and play every position, from the 1 through the 5,” Peper said.
Millsaps wants Peper to be prepared to do it all, regardless of where she is on the court.
“We need her to be the player that she is and is predicted to be,” Millsaps said. “Put the ball in the hoop, drive and create for her teammate, snatch the rebound, start the fast break.”
Dexter Southfield has several new players this year. And despite still being an underclassman, Peper’s experience within the program —which began in middle school — as well as in NEPSAC has prepared her to lead her team.
“I have a lot of experience playing in NEPSAC, so I think that it’s just a really good year and opportunity for me to be a leader, especially for a lot of the new girls,” Peper said. “Even though I’m young, (I can) step up and try and lead them as best as I can.”
Avery Bollin is growing on offense, and even better on defense
Peper is 6-foot-4, which presents enough of a problem for opposing teams. That problem gets even worse when 6-foot-3 freshman Bollin is playing alongside her.
The two have been playing together at Dexter Southfield for several years now.
“We know how each other plays, and it’s just easier to play off of each other because I can kind of read what she’s going to do, and she can kind of read what I am going to do,” Peper said. “It’s just really helpful for when we go against other girls that don’t really know what we’re doing. It’s more of an advantage for us.”
Bollin (Raynham, Mass.) can certainly battle in the paint, using her size to score. Over the offseason, though, she has been working on making her presence known defensively.
“Being able to guard the 3 through the 5 has been really important for me,” Bollin said. “In offense (Coach) has me playing the 3 through the 5, so it’s really important to be able to guard the post, but also be able to guard the 3.”
It helps that she battles against 6-foot senior Brooke Nunnally-Gardner in practice every day. Nunnally-Gardner (Stoughton, Mass.), a talented paint scorer who just committed to Cornell this weekend, played a big role on last year’s squad and is set up to do so again.
“We’ve been in the same program for AAU since, like, third grade,” Bollin said. “Just being able to battle against each other — she’s so strong and talented — it’s really important for me to be able to guard her, but also go against her and her strength.”
Bollin points out how much her team’s confidence has grown since last season.
“Coach brings us a lot of confidence, and she’s always supporting us and pushing us to our best,” Bollin said. “Over the past few months we’ve been getting a lot stronger, a lot faster, and I feel like that’s also helped our confidence.”
Javonah “Juice” Coston and other potential breakout players look to make their mark
Juice Coston is entering her first season at Dexter Southfield after transferring from Beaver Country Day. The 5-foot-8 junior from Boston is the most likely option to start at point guard as her athleticism, quickness off the dribble, and ability to pull up and score make her an offensive threat on every possession. Coston joining the program became even more important following Izzy Adams' late-August reclassification up to 2025 when she enrolled at Bryant.
“Juice is coming in here with the most experience, so there’s a lot expected of her,” Millsaps said. “She’s going to be expected to run the offense, she’s going to be expected to be the off-guard and know where she’s going off the ball. She’s going to have to get her butt down and play defense and lock people up. There’s a lot expected — she doesn’t have a lot of wiggle room.”
Junior Riley Hamilton (Lexington, Mass.), and sophomore Brynn Noel (Waltham, Mass.) can also emerge as big pieces for Dexter Southfield this season. Both of them can sink shots from distance, helping take defenses’ attention off Peper and Bollin.
“You have to have those options,” Millsaps said. “That’s something we’ve been talking to Brynn and Riley about: shoot the rock.”
Sophomore transfer Maeve Powers looks poised for a breakout year too, according to Bollin and Peper. Powers (Quincy, Mass.), an electric scorer at 5-foot-7, helped North Quincy to the MIAA Division 2 state semifinals last season.
With a new coach at the helm, talented pieces including a nationally-ranked prospect in Peper, and promising new additions, Dexter Southfield has high expectations for the season ahead.
“Everywhere (Coach Millsaps) is, she wins,” Peper said. "So she’s just a really good example for all of us to have.”
