Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Jodi Cory’s Defense Takes The Offensive Mead Hoops Star Relishes Panther Victories Over Coach Father’s Saxons

Mike Vlahovich Staff Writer

You can always tell Mead High School’s Jodi Cory out on the basketball court. She’s the one playing in-your-face defense.

“I’ve always thought my strong area wasn’t offense,” said Cory. “I had to do something to play. Defense is a heart thing.”

Cory has willingly taken on the role of Mead’s defensive specialist, an unheralded task in a sport where scoring is glamorized.

But defense is the base upon which successful programs are built. Coach Jeanne Helfer’s Panthers have made five straight state tournament trips and won two championships.

Cory is after a third appearance, although there was talk at the end of last season that she might transfer to Ferris, where her father, Greg Cory, is assistant coach.

“I told her if she wanted to go, I’d encourage her,” Helfer said, “but we’d have to come to beat her.”

Despite finishing the season with a 27-2 record and third-place state finish, there had been some internal friction on the Panthers. That wasn’t the reason she considered the move, Cory said.

“It would have been nice to spend my senior year with my dad,” she said. “That was the only reason. But I couldn’t leave Helfer.”

The two coaches have differing styles.

Greg Cory is more likely to joke. Helfer is very intense.

But fathers can have higher expectations for their children than for other players.

“He was getting on me constantly because I am his daughter,” said Cory. “Helfer does the same thing, but she pushes everyone and it’s easier to deal with.”

This year Cory is Mead’s co-captain. She also is the player always given the chore of guarding the opposition team’s leading scorer.

Last week, when daughter and dad squared off for the second time this season, it included Greater Spokane League scoring leader Emily Ireland of Ferris. Cory limited Ireland, who was averaging 20 points per game, to five and won again.

Father and daughter have kept their rivalry amicable but no less competitive.

“Playing Ferris is really hard for me because it’s so personal,” said Cory. “It’s hard going against him.

“At the same time there’s no one I’d rather beat.”

It was Greg Cory, a former point guard at Montana State University, who got his daughter involved in basketball. He coached an all-girls fourth-grade team in an otherwise all-boy league, and the girls lost just once.

“I always loved defense, and Dad always stressed it,” said Cory. “When I was a sophomore, I thought that was the only thing Helfer cared about.”

Her play impressed the coach, and she has been on varsity since her sophomore year.

“I just hustle,” said Cory. “I don’t do things fundamentally. Helfer will tell you that.”

Said Helfer of Cory’s style: “She’s instinctive. She’s a nice girl but as ornery as they come.”

Helfer is also pleased with Cory’s mature leadership and sense of humor that tempers her serious coach.

Cory has scored in double figures just once - a 22-point outburst to rally the team past University. It scared her into thinking she might want to do so every game.

But following a five-point effort during a victory over previously unbeaten Shadle Park, she was relieved because she didn’t miss it.

“I don’t care about scoring,” said Cory. “The only thing I care about is if we win.”