The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Cornerstone’s Tyna picks Notre Dame College
Kailey Tyna puts a high premium on family.
To the 6-foot senior at Cornerstone Christian, family isn’t only within the walls of her home, but well beyond. It’s what drew her to Cornerstone for academics and athletics, but also what was a major selling point when she was making her college decision.
With that family standard in mind, Tyna has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at
Division II Notre Dame College, where she plans a double major in graphic design and marketing.
Tyna chose the scholarship offer from Notre Dame College over options such as John Carroll, Mount Vernon Nazarene and Mount Union — all Division III programs.
“I’m very excited about going to NDC,” Tyna said. “I know it’s a great program. I like the coach (Lauren Macer) a lot, it’s a good program, and it’s a family atmosphere. That is important to me.”
Including the athletic scholarship and other grants, Tyna said there won’t be much out-of-pocket expense for her and her family to play college basketball at a program near to her home in Streetsboro.
“I really enjoyed playing high school basketball. I learned a lot — a lot of life lessons,” Tyna said. “I’m excited to experience the same type of things on the college level. I’m a competitor. I have always wanted to take it to the next level.”
Tyna is a versatile 6-footer. While she does possess post moves, Tyna might be at her best either facing the basket, where she can hit the 3-point shot, or in transition, where she is a dominating type of finisher on fast breaks.
Defensively, her wing span, height and agility are a problem for opposing players.
This past season, Tyna averaged a team-high 14.1 points for the Patriots, who were slated to play Fort Loramie in a Division IV state semifinal when the coronavirus pandemic shut down the Ohio girls basketball state tournament.
Tyna also averaged 6.2 rebounds for Cornerstone.
“That was devastating,” Tyna said of the opportunity for a state championship being ended by COVID-19. “We were all so disappointed. We were there and ready to play. We were hyped and felt good about our chances. It was a shocker to all of us. It was not fun.”
Playing for Coach Lisa Stopp’s team — now that WAS fun for Tyna.
After playing her freshman year at CVCA, Tyna transferred to Cornerstone
to join a group of girls she knew well as teammates in the AAU circuit, players like Madison and Michaela Cloonan and the coach’s daughter, Riley Stopp.
“I went to Cornerstone because it had that family feel to it,” she said. “That’s what I wanted and I found it there. We did so many team-bonding activities together. On and off the court, we got along so well.”
Tyna is the third Cornerstone Christian player to sign a letter of intent to play college basketball. Madison and Michaela Cloonan signed to play at Ursuline College.