By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
When Kes Murphy was two years old, his mother took him to the 1975 Kentucky girls’ state high school basketball tournament at Eastern Kentucky University. They made the long drive from Northern Kentucky to watch his older sister, Donna, a highly talented player who led the Newport High School team to the 9th Region championship that season.
This week, Murphy will take part in the girls’ state tournament himself. He’s head coach of the Holy Cross team that defeated Holmes, 53-43, in the 9th Region championship game on Sunday to claim the title for the first time since 1976.
After the game, the coach’s mom and older sister came down from the stands to congratulate him on his team’s accomplishment.
“I’m just very pleased for him because he worked very hard for this,” said Donna Murphy. “I knew he had a heart for (coaching) and he’s really good at it. Holy Cross has given him a chance to do what he loves doing and it’s really paid off.”
Holy Cross was coming off back-to-back losing seasons when Murphy took charge of the Indians’ program in 2010. Four years later, the small Catholic school in Covington has a team headed for the “Sweet 16” state tournament with a 29-3 record. The Indians will play 13th Region champion Bell County (28-2) in a first-round game at 7:30 p.m. (EST) Friday at Dibble Arena on the campus of Western Kentucky University.
The fact that Holy Cross was third in the 9th Region power rankings going into the post-season playoffs made winning the championship trophy and a berth in the state tournament even sweeter.
“Our kids saw that and as a result we played with a chip on our shoulder,” coach Murphy said of the power rankings. “I told them we had to come out and prove everybody wrong despite the rankings and the (championship trophy) would speak for itself.”
The regional final was a closer game than the final 10-point margin might indicate. Holmes pulled to within 36-34 early in the fourth quarter, but the Indians scored seven straight points to regain control.
With less than two minutes left, Holmes started fouling to stop the clock. Holy Cross had three players go to the line and none of them missed a free throw, clinching the victory and the long-awaited regional title.
“Coach Murphy told us going into the game we’re going to have to be composed and it’ll all come down to mental toughness,” said senior Holy Cross senior guard Deja Turner. “We knew they were going to make runs on us. They’re a good team and we’re a good team so it’s all how you weather the storm and I think we handled it pretty well.”
Turner scored a game-high 22 points and was named most valuable player on the regional all-tournament team. She’s one of four seniors on the Holy Cross roster that coach Murphy worked with over the last three seasons to develop this year’s championship team.
“He’s a great guy and a great coach,” Turner said. “He puts as much time into it as we do, if not more. Most of what he does goes unseen, but it’s also appreciated.”
Murphy was an assistant coach at three different high schools in Northern Kentucky before Holy Cross hired him as head coach in 2010. He does not teach at the school. He works for Fidelity Investments in Covington.
Earlier this season, his employer allowed him to take some time off work when Holy Cross played in the Kentucky All “A” Classic small-school state tournament. The Indians won that state title and the coach thinks they have a shot at another one this week.
“We’ve been to the All ‘A’ and that was a big stage and this was a big stage,” he said after Sunday’s regional final. “I think we’re prepared, we’re ready. We’ll see what happens.”
Holy Cross had one of the top girls’ basketball programs in the area during the late 1970s. The Indians made it to the 9th Region final four times in the first five years after the sport was reinstated due to Title IX legislation.
In the 1975 regional final, coach Murphy’s sister led Newport to a win over Holy Cross in overtime. The following year Holy Cross beat Newport in the title game and the Indians made their first appearance in the state tournament.
Before Sunday’s regional championship game, Murphy said something to his players that he’ll most likely repeat on Wednesday when they become the first Holy Cross team to compete in the girls’ state basketball tournament in 39 years.
“These opportunities don’t come along very often so just seize the moment,” he told the girls. “We’ve worked hard to make this our moment. Now we’ve got to go out and fight to make something happen.”
Terry Boehmker, NKyTribune sports writer, is former sportswriter and editor for The Kentucky Post. He is an award-winning writer with extensive background in both print and digital. Reach him at terryboe@yahoo.com.