Jenny Mowe-Joseph is coaching on the same court at BHS where she starred for Powers High in the 1990s

Jenny Mowe-Joseph feels right at home in the Baker High School gym.

As much now as she did when she starred for Powers High School in the

mid-1990s.

The 6-foot-5 Mowe-Joseph led Powers, a Class 1A high school

southeast of Coos Bay, to the state tournament three consecutive years

from 1994 to 1996.

The Cruisers won the state title in 1995, defeating Echo 49-30 in

the championship game. Powers finished second in 1996, losing 60-46 to

Ione in the title game. Mowe-Joseph was named Class 1A player of the

year that season.

“I played two years here for the state championship,” said Mowe-Joseph recently, during a break from her duties as Baker junior varsity girls basketball coach.

Mowe-Joseph became part of the Baker basketball program a year ago when she helped her brother-in-law, Wade Joseph, coach the Bulldog freshmen girls.

She married Wade’s brother, Loran, on June 9, 2007, at Fall Creek.

This season Mowe-Joseph was signed to coach the freshmen team herself. Then, when JV coach Sarah Hadaller accepted a job in Washington, Mowe-Joseph stepped up a level.

“Tim and Mike (varsity coach Tim Smith and athletic director Mike Sullivan) gave me a call about the job, but I was conflicted,” said Mowe-Joseph. “It would be tough with a little one and dealing with the travel.”

That little one is 1-year-old Jack, who Mowe-Joseph was pregnant with while she was helping coach the freshmen girls last season.

She said being on the sidelines has been tough for her to get used to again.

“I had done AAU, but that’s so different than high school,” she said. “With AAU you have kids two months before you play any games. With high school you sort of go by the seat of your pants.

“And, having a baby in between seasons, my memory sort of went blank. But once I got on the floor it all started to come back. The biggest thing for me as JV coach is trying to get the intensity level up with young girls,” she said.

Does having a former celebrated player intimidate the young players?

“Most of these kids didn’t even know who I was,” Mowe-Joseph said.

She said her vocal style of coaching may be more intimidating than her former status as a star player.

“I tend to yell a lot. The best coaches I had tended to talk me through things. I try to pass that along to my girls,” she said.

“The JV program is a stepping stone to the varsity. I just tried to get the girls to understand the bigger concepts.

“I really enjoy skill development. I’ve had some success with it. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing my players transition. That’s what I really enjoy – teaching.”

Now that the Baker JV season has ended, does Mowe-Joseph want to return next season?

“I’d like to be back,” she said. “I also like doing camps and clinics.”

From Powers to Eugene

After her successful Class 1A career at Powers, Mowe-Joseph went to the University of Oregon in Eugene where she majored in history and minored in anthropology.

She was a member of the Lady Ducks basketball team for five years (including a year of medical hardship due to a knee injury). She then was drafted in 2001 as the 20th overall pick in the Women’s National Basketball Association draft by the Portland Fire. She was the first Oregon women’s player to ever be drafted.

During the following off-season Mowe-Joseph played in Poland. Then after her first season in Portland she played the off-season in China.

While there Mowe-Joseph received word that the Portland franchise had folded so she played for the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association, averaging 25 points and 10 rebounds per game.

After the Fire folded Mowe-Joseph was selected by the Washington Mystics in the WNBA dispersal draft.

“I went to training camp, got cut, and went to South Korea to play,” she said. “The pay over there was better.”

Mowe-Joseph then had one more attempt at a WNBA career. It lasted one game.

“When I came back my agent had worked a tryout with the Los Angeles Sparks. She said the Sparks need you. I played one game.

“I was having hip problems so I didn’t return to the Sparks. I ended up playing one more year in China,” she said.

“Through this whole process I was on medication. My brother also had had hip surgery and that was kind of a wake-up call for me.”

That was in 2003. Mowe-Joseph quit as an active player, and turned to yoga.

“Coming from a small town to the University of Oregon was a huge learning curve,” she said.

“I didn’t know a lot of stuff. That was hard. I didn’t feel like I came into my own until I started playing overseas. I grew as a player in Poland.

“A lot of times I was just playing for money. Going overseas was different,” she said. “It’s a little overwhelming at first, but Poland was like a walk in the park. After that first year I would have stayed.

“In China there were tough conditions. There’s no Americanized version of it,” she said.

She said meals were particularly interesting.

“One of my pregame meals with the Chinese cuisine was different,” she said.

“We were up by northern China and the meal, which consisted of beetle larvae, had my teammates excited. Not me. I ate a lot of sticky rice and yogurt.”

After her playing days ended Mowe-Joseph returned to Eugene and started a skill development business. That’s also where she met her husband.

“We then came back to Baker City so he could take over the family business,” she said.

Mowe-Joseph has several memories of her three years at the 1A state tournament, but a couple stand out.

“When my teammate Katie Hofsess hit a three-pointer from deep in the corner it was like the biggest shot in the world. It was huge.

“I also remember fouling out of the title game my senior year. That was tough,” she said. Ione defeated the Cruisers 60-46 that year for the title.

“The state championships are so intense. I also remember the ice baths at the motel to get our legs back,” she said.

“At the 1A level the whole town goes to state. It’s really exciting.”