U-Hi girls hitting stride under first-year coach
It’s the last night of Christmas break and the University girls basketball team has launched itself into a 13-point lead on Gonzaga Prep in a Greater Spokane League contest on the Bullpups’ home court.
First-year coach Jay Kennedy is calmly pacing the U-Hi sideline, watching his Titans. From his demeanor, you can’t tell what the score is. He frequently stands to watch the play, then walks slowly to the end of the bench to take a seat for a play or two, then meanders back to his normal spot at the head of the bench.
When he makes a substitution, he welcomes his player back with a pat on the back and a word or two of praise.
The routine does not vary as his team slowly, painfully give back the entire lead through some timely shooting by G-Prep and a series of careless entry passes that a collapsing defense gobbled up like a plate of holiday cookies in the office break room.
No yelling. No wild gestures. No admonitions.
“I just try to keep myself calm,” he explained. “If I stay calm, the girls stay calm.”
By halftime the Titans held a 31-29 lead, but the sputtering continued until G-Prep tied the game at 38-38 with 3:26 left in the third quarter.
Still, no panic from the coach, although in the odd moment he did look like a man in dire need of an antacid.
“I believe in letting them play,” he said.
It worked.
U-Hi bent, but never broke. Gonzaga Prep never managed to take the lead and in the fourth quarter the Titans kicked their defensive pressure up a notch and made some exceptional plays in transition. By the time it was all over, the 13-point lead was back for a 63-50 victory.
Kinsley Barrington scored 17 points to lead U-Hi. Ellie Boni added another 16 and Claire Dingus contributed 10. Barrington and Boni both are sophomores.
All in all, the team played much the way the coach coaches. They never panicked. They did a good job of problem solving. And they had fun playing the game.
The win gives U-Hi six wins in its last seven games to go to 6-5. After the loss, Gonzaga Prep is 7-4, but the teams now are tied in the GSL at 3-2.
Kennedy and the Titans opened the season with four straight losses against very tough competition.
“We started against Lewiston in Lewiston and we played a very good Post Falls team,” Kennedy said. “And our first two league games were against Lewis and Clark and Central Valley. That’s a tough way to start.
“But after that we started to play better and the girls have gotten their confidence.”
The team has played well against tough competition. The Titans lost to Lewiston by five points and two points to Post Falls. It lost by one to LC and CV had its way with them.
The Titans posted back-to-back wins over Ferris and Rogers and beat Wenatchee, Rogers of Puyallup and Kentwood for a five-game win streak.
“The girls loved the trip to Wenatchee,” Kennedy said. That was a good win for us and we were able to make a side trip to Leavenworth and have some fun.”
Kennedy replaces Mark Stinson, who stepped down (he refers to it as a retirement from coaching) after 18 seasons.
U-Hi is the first head coaching job for Kennedy, and his day job is being half of the Jay and Kevin Show on Coyote Country 99.9 FM. But he’s been around the program for years. His daughter played for former coach Mark Stinson and his son is a junior with the U-Hi boys team this year.
“Coach Stinson did a fantastic job,” Kennedy said. “You don’t coach for 20 years or more without doing something right. The girls have a great foundation. We do have our own way of doing things, but we’re building on what they have already learned.
“I’m pleased with where we are right now, but we still have a long way to go. I like to think that there really is no ceiling with this group. We’re just figuring out how good we can really be.”