Plum Hall of Famer Kristy Trn earns PSAC basketball coaching honor

Kristy Trn is no stranger to success, but the longtime coach of the Shippensburg women’s basketball team is not used to a rebuilding project.

Trn faced one after the 2016-17 season, when the Raiders won 24 games, reached the PSAC Tournament semifinals and earned a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament. There were seven seniors on that team, and they were replaced by eight freshmen.

Only two from the class remain, but Ariel Jones and Kryshell Gordy helped Trn, a 1989 Plum graduate who played basketball, volleyball and softball, steady the ship.

Shippensburg finished the season 21-9 — the Raiders won seven games in 2017-18 — to finish first in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division with a 17-5 record.

“After what happened three years ago, I’m extremely proud of where we are,” Trn said. “There’s been a lot of turnaround the last three years, but our team has a willingness not to quit.”

And a desire to climb back to the top of the PSAC.

The Raiders reached the PSAC Tournament semifinals this season, losing to eventual champion Gannon. While the result brought disappointment, the Raiders were not overlooked for postseason awards.

Trn was named the PSAC Eastern Division Coach of the Year as voted on by conference head coaches.

“I think it shows the overall progress we’ve made and success we’ve had,” Trn said.

“We have a good, experienced staff, and you certainly can’t get honors like these with them or without the players.”

Players such as Jones, the PSAC Eastern Conference Player of the Year.

The conference coaching honor is the fifth for Trn in her 21 seasons leading Shippensburg.

She was the PSAC Western Division Coach of the Year in 2001 — Shippensburg made the Final Four — and ’02. She won the Eastern award in ’13 and ’17.

A 2003 Shippensburg Hall of Fame inductee and ’07 honoree of the Plum High School Hall of Fame, Trn has guided the Raiders to seven 20-win seasons.

Her career record is 362-230, including a 218-138 conference mark.

The 1993 Shippensburg grad who earned a Master’s in administration of justice in 1994 is in her 31st year at the school.

“It’s very wild. I came to school with no intention of getting into coaching. I wanted to be in the FBI,” Trn said. “The coach (current assistant Dave Smith) who came in my sophomore year asked me to stay and helped after I was done playing. It seemed like a natural fit.”

As for that rebuild, Trn believes the team can take another step next season, which likely would land Shippensburg in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time (fifth as a head coach) during her coaching tenure.

“The girls weren’t thrilled with how we performed against Gannon, and it was a pretty somber locker room,” Trn said.

“But one thing that’s very exciting is we’re bringing a lot back. Going into this season, we weren’t looked at to be No. 1 (in the Eastern Division), but I told them that next year we’ll likely be set at the top. It’s a whole different position to be in … but I think we’ll be ready to compete.”