Brush’s Winters named top D-I coach

The Brush girls basketball team had a banner season, and the Arcs reaped the rewards of their efforts in the Division I All-Ohio team that was released March 26 by the Ohio Prep Sports Writers Association.

Coach Demarris Winters has been named the Division I coach of the year by media members from around the state. He led the Arcs to a 22-4 record this past season with a predominantly young roster that included a pair of freshman starting guards in Tatiana Mason and Chaniyra McDowell-Isaacs.

The All-Ohio nod comes fewer than 24 hours after Winters was named The News-Herald’s coach of the year during the annual boys and girls basketball awards show at Hooley Pub & Grille in Mentor.

“Oh wow! Goodness gracious!,” Winters said when told of the honor he had received. “What a year for the Winters family, huh?”

Winters was in Dayton over the weekend to watch his son, Demarris Winters Jr., and the Richmond Heights boys basketball team win its third straight Division IV state title. Additionally, his daugher, Deja, is an assistant coach on the Richmond Heights girls team that went 22-5 and advanced to the Division IV regional tournament.

Winters said being named coach of the year by the media members around the state is a positive for his program.

“It means the world to us,” he said. “It means everybody appreciates the hard work we’ve done, most importantly the girls. I’ve had some really good kids and teams in the past, but these kids are special.”

In addition to Winters, the Arcs also placed Mason on third team. Mason averaged 16.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game with 25 3-pointers made in her first year of varsity basketball at Brush.

Joining Mason as a thirdteam Division I All-Ohioan is Riverside’s Savanah Laurenty.

She averaged 21.6 points, 16.4 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 1.7 blocks per game in earning her second straight All-Ohio recognition. Laurenty also took home a second straight Kaayla Chones Award as The News-Herald’s player of the year March 25.

The Division II All-Ohio listing was headlined by a pair of Gilmour Academy Lancers in Helen Holley (second team) and Katie Puletti (third team). A Michigan State signee, Holley averaged 11.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, while Puletti averaged 10.5 points per game.

Numerous other area student-athletes earned special mention and honorable mention recognition.