By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
With 309 wins and two state championship teams on his list of accomplishments, Kes Murphy will resume coaching girls high school basketball at St. Henry next season.
Murphy started his head coaching career at Holy Cross, where his teams compiled a 158-81 record in eight years. During the 2014-15 season, Holy Cross became the first 9th Region girls team to win the Sweet 16™ post-season state tournament after winning the All “A” Classic state championship a few weeks earlier. That team finished with a 33-3 record.
Murphy then spent seven seasons as Notre Dame Academy’s head coach. His teams compiled a 151-58 record and made it to the 9th Region championship game in 2020, 2021 and 2025.
The school administration decided not to rehire him after the 2025 season even though six of his his teams won 20 or more games.
“Coach Murphy’s record and accolades speak for themselves and (we) are honored to add a coach of his stature,” St. Henry athletic director Jim Demler said in a media release. “Coach Murphy is a proven winner and always gets the very best from his players.”
Murphy was hired to succeed Dan Trame. The Crusaders finished 17-13 and 14-17 the last two seasons under Trame with both teams losing in the first round of the 9th Region tournament.
The top five scorers on St. Henry’s team last season were underclassmen. The leader was junior guard Joey Powers with an 11.4 average, followed by sophomores Audrey Pieczonka (10.8), Anna Bain (9.1), Gia Jones (8.4) and Kenadi Sieg (5.1).
Cooper girls advance to state quarterfinals in lacrosse
Northern Kentucky lacrosse teams went 1-3 in the first round of state tournament matches on Wednesday with the Cooper girls getting the lone victory.
Cooper defeated Lexington Sayre, 11-9, behind four goals by junior Emily Forbes. The Jaguars (11-7) will visit Lexington Henry Clay (16-4) in a state quarterfinal match at 7 p.m. Friday. In a season-opening match between the two teams, Henry Clay came away with a 14-4 win.
Forbes was Cooper’s leading goal-scorer in all three of its playoff victories and she has 40 this season. Henry Clay seniors Audrey and Amelia Websters have a combined total of more than 120 goals.
Henry Clay defeated Ryle, 12-7, in another girls first-round match. In the boys playoffs, Sayre defeated Ryle, 16-2, and Henry Clay knocked off Dixie Heights, 14-7, in the opening round.