Bryan Station looks to program’s history for next girls’ basketball coach
Bryan Station has looked to a noted alumna for its next girls’ basketball coach.
Serena Sandusky, a 2013 Bryan Station graduate, whose Defenders playing career highlights included all-state and Kentucky All-Star team honors ahead of a college career at Butler and Bellarmine, will take over the program, the school announced Wednesday evening on social media.
“I’m excited to be back home and thankful for the opportunity to lead and mentor this great group of student athletes,” Sandusky said in the Bryan Station Athletics Facebook post announcing her hire. “Once a Defender, always a Defender!”
Sandusky takes the helm after serving last year as an assistant to former head coach Brian Hall, who stepped down following a pandemic-marred 6-11 campaign in which the Defenders looked dangerous at times, but struggled to find consistency. She also spent three years as an assistant coach for Frederick Douglass.
“I have a pretty good relationship, with (the players) already,” Sandusky told the Herald-Leader on Thursday. “I’m just looking forward to building on that.”
The Defenders lose only two seniors and return First Team All-City junior Tania Woodall, their leading scorer (18.6 ppg) and rebounder (8.6 rpg).
When Sandusky was on the Defenders roster, Bryan Station made five straight 11th Region Tournament appearances and won back-to-back 42nd District Tournament titles in 2012 and 2013, her junior and senior years as a team captain under then-Coach Donna Murphy.
“Playing for her, she definitely instilled a lot as far as how you carry yourself and taking care of business as soon as you walk into the gym,” Sandusky said of her former high school coach.
Murphy’s contract was not renewed after Sandusky’s senior season. The Defenders have made it back to the region tournament only twice since with two district runner-up finishes. Bryan Station finished region runner-up under Murphy’s successor, Shawn Ransom, in 2016 and got ousted in the regional’s first round in 2020 under Hall.
Sandusky played college basketball at Butler out of high school and transferred to Bellarmine to finish her career as a reserve player for the Knights. She is a Fayette County Schools police officer at Bryan Station.
“In college, I definitely fell in love with the game of basketball and got a different side of it,” Sandusky said. “It was really being more of a student of the game. … That really encouraged me to get into coaching.”
