Canton McKinley’s Bell repeats as Ms. Basketball
Canton McKinley junior Kierstan Bell won the Ohio Ms. Basketball on Wednesday in a statewide media vote to become the fifth twotime winner.
Bell, 6 feet 1, averaged 33.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 5.0 steals, 3.9 assists and 2.5 blocks while shooting 52.7 percent from the field for McKinley (23-2), which lost to Wadsworth in a Division I district final. She set McKinley records for points in a game (53), season (833) and career (2,104).
A year after becoming the first sophomore to win, Bell joined Garfield Heights Trinity’s Vonda Ward (1990-91) and Semeka Randall (199697), Mason’s Michelle Munoz (2000-01) and McKinley’s Ameryst Alston (2011-12) as repeat winners.
“For her to be in the same breath as Ameryst, Michelle Munoz, Semeka Randall and Vonda Ward … I mean, those are legends of the game,” said coach Pam Davis, who also coached Alston, who played at Ohio State. “They played at such an elite, high level for a lot of years. I think that’s legendary. I think her name will forever be in the record books with those types of athletes.”
The second-place finisher was Jacy Sheldon of Dublin Coffman.
Other finalists were Jordan Horston, Africentric; Sammie Puisis, Mason; Alli Kern, Waterford; Lilly Ritz, Cambridge; Naz Hillmon, Gates Mills Gilmour Academy; Taylor Mikesell, Massillon Jackson; and Zia Cooke, Toledo Rogers.
Bell is on track to potentially match LeBron James, the only player in Ohio history to win Mr. Basketball three times, which he did from 2001 to ’03 at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary. But she keeps her achievements in perspective.
“It’s not just about me,” Bell said. “It’s about God and family and community and helping kids. We had a little girl who came to practices all the time and they were like, ‘Who’s your favorite basketball player?’ She said me and it was so cute. It’s amazing how the things you do can impact other people’s lives.”
Bell is ranked fourth nationally in her class by ESPN — the highest of any girl in Ohio — and has more than 30 Division I offers, including Ohio State, Michigan State, Notre Dame and UCLA. She plans to make her decision after her AAU season ends this spring.
Claudio Penha had 24 points and Christopher Anthony 19, and Harvest Prep (27-0) turned aside Wheelersburg (20-4) in a Division III regional semifi nal in Athens. Penha scored half of his points in the fourth quarter to help preserve 57-41 lead after three quarters. Isaiah Cumberland had 10 points and fi ve rebounds for the top-ranked Warriors. Tanner Holden had 35 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots for Wheelersburg, which had no other player score in double fi gures. Harvest Prep will next face Sugarcreek Garaway in a regional fi nal. The teams met on Dec. 30, a 93-62 win for the Warriors.