Sinclair Community College Women's Basketball

Jones has done it twice. The first time has been captured in a heart-warming photo displayed on a shelf in her coaching office at Sinclair Community College. She is shown beaming with pride with Jeff Britt, her basketball coach at St. Catharine College, a tiny Catholic school in Kentucky, standing behind her doing the same as she sits at a table about to sign her letter of intent to come play for the Dayton Flyers. One of my kids here asked me how I felt right then and I told her it was a great day, Jones said with a smile as she sat at her desk and looked up at the framed moment from some 17 years past. I love that photo. Like a lot of them in here, they are conversation pieces. I love pictures that tell a story. Jones grew up in West Dayton, near Williams and First streets, in a tough economic and social situation. Although just 5-foot-2, she managed to stand tall on the basketball court. Grant Clark, the basketball coach at now-defunct Patterson Co-Op, spotted her one day at the Linden Center holding her own in a pickup game against bigger boys. Eventually she became a four-year starter for him at point guard. She once told me how, back then, she used to slip into UD Arena, sit in the darkened upper reaches and stare down at the gleaming court: Id sit there and I just wanted to play on that floor so bad, but I never got the chance. Our teams at Patterson were good, but we never got far enough in the tournament to get a game on the big floor. All I wanted to do, just once, was touch that court. She became a two-time All-City player at Patterson, but because she hadnt always embraced academics her grades relegated her to the junior college route. But once at St. Catharine she again stood tall, this time in the classroom, as well. She became a Deans List student with a 3.492 grade-point average. On the court, she was second in the nation in field-goal percentage and fourth from 3-point range. She had always wanted to come to UD but the Flyers, then coached by Jaci Clark, still werent interested until a couple of other recruits fell through at the last minute. That prompted the offer and the photo that captured Jones joy as she signed. Everybody good goes away and I wanted to come back and play for my city, my community, my family, she explained the other day. It was a big accomplishment for me especially coming from my background. UD was my UConn. My Tennessee. It was personal to me. She became a deadly 3-point shooter for the Flyers and still holds the single-game accuracy record tied with Kiki Lund going 6-for-6 from 3-point range. Honored for her academics as well, she was given a special Inspiration Award by Clark for the way she battled all the odds. And that has led to a coaching career that went from high schools to the head coach at Cincinnati State, five years as an assistant at Murray State and then a year as head coach at Eureka College in Illinois. And that brings us to the second coming home image. Its not in a frame on her office shelf. In the quiet moments of days past, it has set heavy on her heart. While at Eureka, she said she became engaged to be married, and left the job to be closer to her fiancé in Memphis. She went back to helping coach in high school and thats when she said the engagement was broken off on her. At just about the same time, she found out her mom had Stage III lung cancer. Double teamed by heartbreak, she returned home, started substitute teaching in Trotwood, continued her work as a budding preacher and became a volunteer coach with the Sinclair womens team. More than winning In February of last season Marcus Stewart, the Sinclair womens coach, was fired for allegedly seeking money from student-athletes to buy athletic goods. With seven games left in the season, Jones was made the interim coach and, under difficult circumstances, guided the team to a 4-3 record. When the season ended, she hoped to leave Dayton for an NCAA Division I assistants job or a D-II head job. My mom had fought back and was better, the season was over and, most of all, my heart was healed, she said. I thought it was time to get on with life. Meanwhile Jeff Price, Sinclairs veteran mens coach and new athletics director, held out hope she would take over the womens program full-time: This was going to be my first hire as an athletics director and I wanted to make sure I got it right. And I knew she absolutely was the right choice. Although the 37-year-old Jones said she got some offers, they werent ones she wanted and finally she knew she had to do what her heart was telling her. The girls had been through a lot, she said. There were some hurt feelings, some feelings of apprehension and betrayal. I didnt feel I could leave them like that. I always say coaching is about more than just winning that you try to help young ladies become better women and thats what this was about. Assignment from God Because she hadnt taken the job until late, she had missed most of the recruiting window. She did have six returning players and said she found a couple of local girls who were still in need of a school. And then she got lucky and got Madison Schroeder, the 6-foot standout from Carroll High, who transferred in from Ursuline College, where she led the team in rebounding (7.1) and blocked shots and was fourth in scoring. (7.3 ppg.). last season as a freshman. Sinclair lost its season opener at UC Clermont last week, 65-63, and Monday hosted the Cedarville University JV in the home opener. For her homecoming, Jones drew a small crowd of fans including relatives, friends, fellow teachers and even some of her students. Schroder, though, hadnt practiced for nearly a week due to a knee injury and Jones didnt use her in the first quarter. With Cedarville leading 14-3, the coach and her star conferred on the bench, and with eight minutes left in the half Schroder went into the game. Midway through the third quarter on another Schroeder bucket Sinclair took the lead 29-28 and ended up winning 51-45. Schroder finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Teammate Ashtin Brandon added 10 points and 13 rebounds. I dont know if Ill make it through a whole year if every game is like this, Jones said with a tired smile. It had been another 12-plus hour day, teaching middle school science and coaching a team you can tell she really cares about. With these girls and my mom I believe God has me on special assignment here, she said quietly. And Price will gladly take some divine intervention. It might be hard to keep her here she really should be a D-I coach somewhere but she is perfect for us, he said. She played at UD. She went to a junior college and has been a Division I coach. Best of all she understands our student-athletes and she understands this community. Going forward I think shes going to be one of those special coaches like we had with (late Hall of Famer) Linda OKeefe. Shes the real deal. Shes back home and shes making a difference here.