'It was crazy, the talent we had on that team.' MND basketball remembers 2019 state title

Before the start of the 2023-2024 high school basketball season, Mount Notre Dame introduced a modified uniform to honor its past champions.

The team brought back white and blue collar trim and a paw print on the shorts to honor the 28-0 2004 state champions, the first in school history. It added a navy uniform as a nod to the 26-4 2017 team. Lastly, "MND" was added to the front of the jersey just like the 28-0 2021 team had.

One of the teams not mentioned in that list is the 2019 team. It's been five years since that squad went 27-2 and won the Cougars' seventh of their eight total state championships, an Ohio High School Athletics Association record.

Legendary head coach Dr. Scott Rogers, who coached the Cougars to five titles, called the 2004 team and the 2019 team two of the greatest that Ohio girls basketball has ever seen.

"It's always like, 'Who would win, '04 or '19?' It's a good question. (The 2004 team) had so much grit. That was a determined group. (The 2019 team) was just extremely talented," Rogers said.

'It was crazy, the talent we had on that team'

The 2017-2018 team lost to Mason in the regional semifinal. They graduated four seniors but returned an incredibly multifaceted core.

"Rogers, his message was just, 'Keep chipping away. We're not changing anything we're doing.' So we were really motivated going into that season," Grace Centrulla said.

When Rogers thinks about the 2018-2019 team, he remembers how gifted they were.

Gabby Marshall possessed incredible length on defense. She was also shooting long 3-pointers before her college teammate, Caitlin Clark, popularized it. Makira Cook played high-energy, in-your-face defense, often shutting down the opposition's point guard. Laila Phelia had the length to rebound over anyone and the versatility to play four different positions on the fast break. When Phelia wasn't helping in the post, Julia Hoefling was the physical presence the Cougars needed.

K.K. Bransford was the lone freshman to crack the starting five, but her impact was felt immediately. After leading the team in scoring in her first year, it's no wonder she won Ohio Miss Basketball as a junior and senior. Bransford almost didn't attend MND, but the community, academics, and desire to contribute to a winning team swayed her decision. She also credits the senior leadership of Hoefling, Marshall, Anna Keene, Rachel Kemper and Rebecca Wiehe for setting her up for success.

While each member of the starting five played Division I college basketball, Centrulla (Mercyhurst/ Indiana University-Pennsylvania), Autumn Crockett (Wittenburg) and Abby Wolterman (IU-Indianapolis/ Northern Kentucky) all came off the bench that season and are still playing in college. Kristen McBride, the younger sister of New York Knicks star Miles "Deuce" McBride, currently plays volleyball at West Virginia University.

"Even in our summer workouts, we would do open gyms and (Connecticut head coach) Geno (Auriemma) would walk in, (former Tennessee head coach Holly Warlick) would walk in. Louisville's head coach would walk in for Gabby, N.C. State's coach would walk in. It would just be casual, but all of us were like, 'Oh my gosh.'" Centrulla said. "It was crazy, the talent we had on that team."

Talent can only take a team so far. Each day at practice, Rogers and assistant coaches Grayson Fitzhugh, Kate Haralamos, Tom Harsch and Sonny Tudor introduced new wrinkles into the game plan and prepared detailed scouting reports on each team.

"That coaching that we had that season, it was the best coaching staff we could have asked for. They all played such a big role. Not many people noticed or recognized because Rogers is such a strong figurehead for our program, but the behind-the-scenes stuff that they did for our team is honestly why we were so successful," Centrulla said.

The Cougars dominated, even in the biggest games

Of the six state championship games Rogers coached in, the 2019 finale was the only one where he wasn't sure how his team would match up with its opponent.

Pickerington Central boasted seven future DI players in Madison Greene, Maliya Perry, Aarionna Redman, Nicole Stephens, Jada Tate, Jocelyn Tate and Skye Williams.

In a heavyweight bout, MND led 32-29 after three quarters. The Cougars pulled away in the fourth quarter on the strength of their defense.

Throughout the game, Cook shut down Greene, holding the future Ohio State Buckeye to 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting.

"You do not want to bet against Makira. Her will is just undeniable, and that kind of filtered through the whole team," Rogers said.

The offense changed to a set called "1-4 high K.K." to get out of traps and pressure. Variations of the original play led to dizzying ball movement and easier baskets.

"A lot of the eyes were on me, but at the same time, I felt like if I hadn't had that pressure on me, we would have never won that game because people stepped up," Bransford said.

The increase in offensive tempo carried over to the defense. Mount Notre Dame held the Tigers to two points in the fourth quarter, tying a record the 2004 team set in their state championship win over Chaminade-Julienne.

"That game was classic Mount Notre Dame," Rogers said.

The regular season prepared MND for the state tournament. They beat Toledo Notre Dame, Bedford North Lawrence and Ryle by 20 points each. They won their eight regular season Girls Greater Catholic League games by an average of 28.5 points, winning the second of seven straight league titles. In the district championship, they held Fairmont to 30 points on 27.3 percent shooting.

The Cougars had the same game-day routine, regardless of opponent. Parents cooked and hosted the team dinners. Occasionally, Rogers and Tudor would host them. The coaching staff built the toughest schedule they could; the Cougars simply beat every opponent in the same manner, regardless of the name on the jersey.

"Every game we went into was going to be a big game. That's what comes with putting on a Mount Notre Dame uniform. You're going to draw a big crowd, and I think that just got each of us more excited to play. But we liked having a tough schedule. We loved the hard games, we loved being challenged," Hoefling said.

During the season, the team spent almost every moment together. Their days went like this: eight hours of school, study hall while the freshman and junior varsity teams were on the court, go home for dinner, sleep, repeat. Each player took honors courses, and they competed for the highest GPA on the team.

Connections to the current team

Hoefling recently joined the coaching staff as an assistant after her college career wrapped up. She plans to have the same influence that 2006 graduate Lee Stephens and 2005 graduate Michelle Jones had on the 2019 team.

"I was very close with Michelle Jones throughout my entire career at Mount Notre Dame. I always appreciated her advice and her presence," Hoefling said. "I hope I can play that role for these current MND students."

About a month into her new job, the competitiveness and camaraderie she has seen from this year's team reminds her of her senior season.

Current head coach Drew Fladung was an assistant at Mercy McAuley that season. Mount Notre Dame beat the Wolves by 21 points early in the season, then rebounded from a loss to Centerville with a two-point win at Mercy McAuley on Jan. 19, 2019. That victory started a memorable 98-game winning streak that lasted until March 5, 2022.

That streak nearly lasted the entirety of Bransford's high school career. She said the Cougars simply took it one game at a time and treated every game like a state championship game.

Rogers never paid attention to it, even as the MND community and various coaching friends pointed out landmarks along the way.

"I told the kids, 'Hey, just have fun with this thing because guess what? At some point, it's going to end. I don't want you disappointed because this streak's about the connection of eight years of kids.'" Rogers said.

Current seniors Kailee Bransford and Grace Pitzer were freshmen the year the streak ended. They also bear the task of keeping MND's 57-game GGCL unbeaten streak alive.

The Cougars haven't been to the state tournament since 2021, but the impact of their state championship teams is still felt in the gym on East Columbia Avenue.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 'It was crazy, the talent we had on that team.' MND basketball remembers 2019 state title