News

1. McKinley is looking to get to Columbus for the 6th time in school history. The last time they went was 2017 & they lost to Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame in the state semi-final.

2. The Pups played Toledo NDA in their season opener in 2017 as well. That was the one & only time these two teams met. Notre Dame Academy won 70-48.

3. The Eagles of NDA have been to the Final Four 5 of the last 7 years.

4. NDA is led by Jala Johnson, a senior guard who is headed to Loyola Chicago at the next level. She averages 15ppg. McKinley is led by Kierstan Bell, a senior who can play every position. It honestly takes me a moment to comprehend how dominant Dot is. 27ppg, 8rpg, 3apg, 4spg & 4bpg. She leads every statistical category except assists. She is headed to Ohio State next season & is a McDonald’s All American.

5. McKinley has held every team in the postseason under 40 points. They are giving up just 32.5 points per game on defense in the playoffs.

6. NDA makes a living off of forcing turnovers – They force 25 turnovers per game & score 27 points off of turnovers per game. McKinley also forces a lot of turnovers per game at 22. Toledo NDA coach Travis Galloway in his 11th year said McKinley’s pressure constantly makes you uneasy & uncomfortable.

7. McKinley’s longtime head coach Pam Davis in her 13th year had the quote of the week in our mid week discussion. She said that her team has 32 minutes to make a season & that anyone can focus for half an hour.

8. McKinley’s lone loss this season was to GlenOak on January 12th in OT. The final score was 71-70. McKinley (25-1) lost the rebounding battle in that game & didn’t shoot free throws well in any way. They were 13 of 25 from the line in that game. If McKinley is going to make it to Columbus – boxing out & making their free throws will be paramount in the regional final at Norwalk on Saturday.