Relationships and bonding push young Cuyahoga Community College Women’s Basketball team to new heights

HIGHLAND HILLS, Ohio (athletics.tri-c.edu) – A women's basketball roster generally consists of 12-15 players each year. In the 2025-26 season, the Cuyahoga Community College women's basketball team had 13 players. Eight of them were true freshman coming into college and the program straight out of high school.

For most programs, that would be a rebuilding year. One to start laying the foundation for a successful run once the young core has a year under their belts. For head coach Dion Griffin, that wasn't the case.

"I feel like we exceeded expectations," Griffin said. "Whenever you bring a large number of freshmen into a program, you somewhat expect to have a large learning curve or a little bit of a downswing in production. We did the opposite."

What did the opposite look like? Winning 10 of their first 11 games. An 18-8 record and trip to the Region 12 Championships to close the year. And, above all else, an OCCAC Championship for the Triceratops.

Behind all of that, of course, is great play. Then-freshman guard La'Nia Moore (Canton, Ohio) was named OCCAC Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference. Griffin took home his second OCCAC Coach of the Year award in four seasons. The Triceratops followed their leader's styles with strong defensive play by allowing the second-fewest points per game (53.5) and field goal percentage (33.2 percent) in the OCCAC.

But Griffin didn't point to outstanding defense, or standout players, or a specific system that helped the Triceratops win the conference. Instead, he pointed to relationships – the bond between the individual players and the entire coaching staff. That, Griffin said, was what made the difference.

"Building relationships is the first and foremost thing we do in our program," Griffin said. "I think that if the individual that's being coached understands that we care and we generally want the best for them, and then you build a relationship based on that, we can get the best from our players."

With that key philosophy in mind and an almost entirely new roster, Griffin went to work early on building those relationships and setting those standards. Most teams get their start a few months before the season tips off, with practices starting in earnest in early October. And that's how it's been throughout Griffin's tenure leading the Triceratops. That is, until this past season when Griffin decided to shake things up and watch his team compete in a summer league.

This allowed Griffin's Triceratops to get a head start. They started gelling and competing early, which proved to be invaluable.

"We had an extra three months to watch them grow and create chemistry together, go through some ups and downs and get to know each other," Griffin said on the summer league. "It really set the tone and set the bar for that upcoming season."

A lot went into building those relationships among everyone on the team, not just players and coaches. Sure, there was plenty of practice and basketball. But Griffin also wanted to find a way to break through any potential communication barriers to ensure everyone in the program bought in and was ready to give their best.

"In this day and age, everything is on social media and so digitally connected and communicated, which makes it more difficult to build genuine relationships," Griffin pointed out. "Those months over the summer really did give us a genuine opportunity to connect without the phones or any distractions. It let us focus on getting to know each other, not just on the court but off the court as well."

Griffin prioritized having his team grow together through more than basketball. They hosted a team barbecue to get to know each other. They hung out in the gym before and after practice during the season talking about things aside from basketball. They did team fundraisers to give back, raise some money, and get to know each other off the court. According to Griffin, participating in events like a breast cancer walk helped build those relationships.

"Fundraisers are the ultimate relationship builders when you do something that is not going to benefit your pocket, but it benefits the program we all work in," he said. "It played a huge factor in our relationship building. It brought a ton of fun moments that we could build on."

With so much time to gel as a team and get to know each other as people, not just players and coaches, the basketball part became easier. The coaching staff knew what each player needed to be successful and how to approach them. The players knew what was expected of them from the coaching staff and how their teammates operated. Things just fell into place, and the Triceratops were playing like they had known each other for years.

Tri-C leapt out of the gate red-hot, winning 10 of their first 11 contests, including topping five Region 12 opponents and two OCCAC teams. The Triceratops scored 79.5 points per game while allowing only 46.7 points per game during that stretch. Two different Tri-C players – Moore and Doriana Hastings-Peterson (Fr./Canton, Ohio) – were named OCCAC Player of the Week. The Triceratops were rolling.

As the calendar flipped over to the new year, Griffin and the Triceratops juggled keeping those relationships flourishing while still competing. The team took a trip down to Florida, where they topped Hagerstown Community College and fell to Florida State College at Jacksonville in a five-point loss. That trip might have been a big piece of the puzzle for the Triceratops' relationships.

"We spent the weekend in Florida over the new year and had a ball there," Griffin said. "We just enjoyed being around each other. I think that helped a lot."

That rejuvenation on the trip to Florida helped the team finish the season even stronger, with a win over Hocking College, topping the Bryant & Stratton (OH) USCAA team of four-year players, and a strong 72-42 win over Edison State in the final regular season contest to cement the Triceratops as the conference's best.

When reflecting on the season, Griffin shared multiple times how special the group was. How resilient and fun they were throughout the season. And he credited that to how hard everyone worked to build those relationships in the heat of summer so they could put their best foot forward on the hardwood.

"That summer opportunity gave the players a chance to see a preview of what to expect from each other going forward," Griffin said. "We were fortunate enough to have them all buy in. We were able to get off to a great start and wrap up the season in a good way."

Looking ahead at the upcoming season, the Triceratops are once again preparing to embark on a similar summer schedule of player bonding. And Griffin is optimistic about what this year's Triceratops have in store for the OCCAC and Tri-C fans.

"This year is looking really well," he said. "We graduated two sophomores and one will be graduating in December. We'll be bringing back four players out of last year's freshman group. We're trending in an upward direction, to say the least. We're not slowing down at all."

As much as we like to focus on the court and the results, that still won't be the main focus of Griffin and his staff. Instead, they'll look to build relationships, just like last season. Because, to Griffin, that's what made last season's Triceratops special.

"The players had developed friendships and relationships to a degree where it was more of a family environment," Griffin said.

That's what they're looking to build again, heading into the 2026-27 season.

SUMMER PROFILES

This piece is the second on a series of profiles on some of the players and coaches around the Cuyahoga Community College athletic department. See below to read the prior entries.

May 13, 2026 - Family and perserverance drive Cuyahoga Community College Men's Basketball's Frankie Evans IV to next chapter

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