GCC grad Bailey Kuhns makes big jump in game to help Mercyhurst women’s basketball team contend
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On the desk in her office at Mercyhurst, women’s basketball coach Brooklyn Kohlheim has a notebook belonging to sophomore post player Bailey Kuhns. Inside are the Greensburg Central Catholic grad’s jottings regarding her duties on the court.
The notes are neatly written, underlined, highlighted and feature little arrows drawn here and there.
Kohlheim marvels at the meticulous nature of the writings and imagines what Kuhns’ classroom notes must look like. Given Kuhns’ attention to detail with something seemingly so mundane, it stands to reason that she approaches her physical work with the same kind of focus.
And the proof is in the numbers.
The Lakers are the surprise team of the PSAC. Picked to finish seventh in the West Division, Mercyhurst enters Wednesday’s home game against Edinboro at 11-3 overall and 7-1 in the conference. That mark includes a program-record 11-game winning streak.
Kuhns’ play has been a big reason for the Lakers’ surge. After averaging 5.5 points and 3.5 rebounds as a freshman last season, the 5-foot-11 Kuhns is leading the team in scoring (15.2) — shooting 51.5% from the field — and has upped her rebounding average to 4.6.
Kuhns, who has started every game, attributes her meteoric jump to several factors.
“The first thing would be that I’m surrounded by really good people,” she said. “We have lots of veterans on the team, and they really encourage me and they pick me up a lot when I need it. Another factor would be just getting older. … With a year under my belt, I’m a lot more comfortable, my (basketball) IQ has gotten a lot better.
“The last thing would be that I did put the work in in the offseason, and in order to be successful in the PSAC, that’s what you have to do.”
That last part is what has impressed Kohlheim the most. The fifth-year coach said she didn’t think it was possible for Kuhns to be any leaner, but she came back from the summer in even better shape than in her first season.
Kohlheim joked that Kuhns trained old-school style like Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky character: chopping wood and chasing chickens.
“I think Bailey, coming back from summer, she was almost borderline obsessed with wanting to be a completely better player than she was her freshman year,” Kohlheim said. “The intrinsic motivation and drive on that kid …
“She wants to be held accountable. You can show her film … 20 minutes before practice, and she immediately applies it.”
Kuhns, meanwhile, didn’t admit to chasing poultry around her yard. She said she mostly stuck to the training program given to her by the coaching staff.
But for as much as she worked on the physical aspects of her game, Kuhns said she probably spent at least as much time on the mental side. In practice, Kuhns, Kohlheim said, will tell her teammates to get on her about passing out of double teams and making the right decisions.
“In college sports in general, your mental has to be right,” Kuhns said. “You’re going to have days that are not great. You are going to have really good days, and you’re going to have to be mentally tough enough to ride those highs and lows while staying consistent.”
Her teammates typically know what they’re getting from Kuhns on a nightly basis. Opponents, on the other hand, are starting to see some different sides of her.
Kuhns has been most effective in the post, using her quickness to her advantage.
“We don’t have a lot of true ‘fives’ that are like 6-2, 6-3 in this league,” Kohlheim said. “So it is kind of an undersized post player league. But I think that’s what kind of separates Bailey a little bit is she’s more of a tight end than an O-line kind of player. She’s got the strength, but she also complements it really well with her speed.”
Additionally, Kuhns is starting to develop more range to keep defenses honest. With teams having to respect her mid-range game more, Kuhns again is able to lean on her quickness to take players off the dribble.
The final step, Kohlheim said, is having Kuhns develop a respectable touch from 3-point range. Shooting from beyond the arc won’t be something she is asked to do often, but it will be something else defenses will have to consider when guarding her.
“She just needs more reps with it,” Kohlheim said.
Between the note-taking, the work and the support of her teammates, Kuhns has found her groove. Athletes often talk about the game “slowing down” for them, and that has happened for Kuhns, both in how she plays and how she sees the game unfolding.
“You’ve got to be slow, and you’ve got to be composed,” she said. “In the post, it’s all about reads. You’ve got to know how you’re being guarded, how you’re being defended. … When I am playing my best, I told coach I feel like I am in slow motion, and that’s because it’s all about reading and slowing down.”
The Lakers hope they don’t slow down as the season heads into the second half. After feasting on PSAC East opponents, Mercyhurst dives into the meat of West play, including two games each with conference heavyweights Cal (Pa.) and third-ranked Gannon.
Kuhns insists part of the Lakers’ success this season has been staying focused on the task at hand and not looking back or ahead.
She said there isn’t even any extra motivation that stems from being picked seventh in the division.
“Honestly, I think we’ve done a great job staying in the present moment, and I think that’s what has led to our success and I think it will continue to lead to our success,” she said. “We are talking about the next game. Even the next practice.
“We don’t listen to the outside noise. We’re going to do us and not pay attention too much to the rankings or even the stats.”