Girls Basketball: Dublin Coffman shows fight in loss to Unioto
Sunday, December 17, 2023
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Coffman’s Kylie Mast (0) and Unioto’s Amelia Uhrig (23) compete Dec. 17 during the “Battle in the 614” at Ohio Dominican. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Following the loss of three players honored at the state level and with a new coaching staff, the Dublin Coffman girls basketball team is unsurprisingly experiencing what new head coach Corey Kreinbrink is calling a season of “transition.”
Making things even tougher is that the Shamrocks already have faced five teams that played for district championships a year ago, including the team they met Sunday in the finale of the Battle in the 614 at Ohio Dominican.
Facing Chillicothe Unioto, which is one of the state’s premier Division II programs, Coffman showed its toughness particularly during the final two quarters of a 58-44 loss.
“We came out fighting in the second half,” senior guard Gwen Jenkins said. “In the first half, we were slow and didn’t take care of the ball. We have a lot to work on. Last year I had Jenna and Tessa to rely on and be the leaders, and they’d been here for a while, and now we have a young team with brand new people and it’s been a challenge, but I think we’re getting there.”
The players Jenkins was referring to are Jenna Kopyar, who was second-team all-state last season, and Tessa Grady, who is now playing for Wisconsin after earning third-team all-state honors. Also lost to graduation from last year’s Division I regional semifinalist team is Keiryn McGuff, the daughter of Ohio State women’s coach Kevin McGuff who is now playing for Bowling Green after earning honorable mention all-state honors.
Unioto’s Alexis Book scores against Dublin Coffman during the Shermans’ win on Dec. 17 at Ohio Dominican. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Jenkins, who filled a contributing role throughout her previous seasons with the Shamrocks, has been thrust into the No. 1 scoring option and is averaging 13.5 points.
She had 13 points against the Shermans, who improved to 8-1 after winning a district title last winter while Coffman is 2-5.
“It’s been a challenge, but hopefully everyone can really grow into their roles and get good at what they’re good at,” said Jenkins, who has signed to play for South Carolina Upstate. “We just have to keep playing together and building our chemistry.”
Unioto sophomore Milee Smith produced a three-point play and hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer at the end of the first quarter to give her team a 17-7 lead.
Smith, who finished with 20 points, also hit a 3-pointer in the second period as the Shermans built a 33-18 halftime advantage.
“Obviously as a coach you’re going to pick out things you’re not happy about, but overall I was satisfied with how we played,” Unioto coach Jeff Miller said. “(Smith) is a sophomore, she’s athletic, and she can do a lot of things on both sides of the ball.”
Unioto stretched its lead to 45-22 midway through the third period before Coffman ended the quarter on an 8-2 run.
In the final period, Coffman got back to within 55-44 with 1:25 remaining before Unioto closed it out.
Unioto’s Milee Smith lays it in two against Dublin Coffman during the “Battle in the 614″on Dec. 17 at Ohio Dominican. Photo: John Hulkenberg
“We’re trying to string four quarters together,” Kreinbrink said. “We had a really good second half tonight, but it’s hard to spot a team like that 15 points and expect to be in much of a game. I’m happy with our effort. We’ve got a group that sticks together and plays really hard and works really hard. We feel like we’re on the right track.”
Kreinbrink took over as coach in the offseason for Adam Banks, who went 90-13 in four seasons heading the program before taking over as the Coffman boys coach.
In eight seasons as coach of Napoleon, Kreinbrink went 147-57 and led the program to the Division II state championship in 2020-21.
The Wildcats won four consecutive district titles from 2018-21 under Kreinbrink, including in 2019-20 when they were 27-0 when the state tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This also is the first season Kreinbrink has worked with assistant coaches Jen Music and Carly Santoro. Music previously served as Dublin Scioto’s head coach for nine seasons.
Senior Peyton Mather finished with 10 points and senior Avery Mather had eight for the Shamrocks, who have six seniors. Juniors Layla Miles and Cadence Scott and sophomore Kylie Mast are others in the rotation.
“We’ve got so many areas of transition,” Kreinbrink said. “We’ve got a brand new coaching staff, and with the caliber of players that graduated, we have everybody playing kind of different roles and gaining experience. On top of that, we’re playing a really competitive and strong schedule. It’s going to take some time and some patience. We’re trying to work hard and learn how to practice and sometimes that takes time.”