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Postseason Honors For Five Eagle Girls Basketball Players Announced
Headlined by a trio of players that earned first team All-Eastern Cincinnati Conference and third team All-District 16 selection, five members of the Milford girls basketball team have received postseason honors for their play this season. The group is led by seniors Paige Ayler and Kaylie McKenney, along with junior Miah O’Toole who were all tabbed all-conference and all-district. In addition to the third team all-district distinction from area coaches, the Eagle trio also earned honorable mention all-district from local sportswriters.
The highly successful campaign saw the Eagles finish 17-7 overall and 12-4 in the ECC, good for third place. Also honored for leading Milford to those marks were senior Madalyn Hills (second team All-ECC) and freshman Violet Shuluga (honorable mention All-ECC).
In addition, the senior trio of Ayler, Hills and McKenney has been selected to compete in the District 16 Senior All-Star Game. The game will take place on Wednesday, March 16 at 7:30 pm at Indian Hill High School.
Ayler picked up her third all-conference award after being named second team as a freshman and a junior. One of the most versatile players in the league, she averaged 8.0 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 76% from the free throw line and making 19 three-pointers. Her 65 assists and 31 steals both led the Eagles this year, with the assists mark ranking fifth in the ECC. Ayler will take her talents to Lake Erie College next season.
McKenney concludes her career with a second straight first team All-ECC selection and her third overall all-conference accolade. As a senior, she averaged a double-double, ranking 10th in the league in scoring (11.0 points per game) and second in rebounds (10.3 per game). McKenney finished just one helper behind Ayler for team-high honors, while her 23 blocks were good for sixth in the league. She finished her career in the top-five in school history in both rebounds (621) and blocks (55).
O’Toole was Milford’s leading scorer this year on the way to her first-ever all-conference award. For the campaign, she finished seventh in the league, averaging 12 points per game, while connecting on 71% of her free throws and knocking down 32 three-pointers, good for fifth in the ECC. A standout defender as well, O’Toole nabbed 21 steals and pulled down 2.8 rebounds per game.
Hills will leave her legacy on the Milford program as the most decorated three-point shooter in school history. This season, Hills established new records for career (157) and single season (59) three-pointers made. The latter topped her own school record from a year ago. An honorable mention All-ECC choice last year, Hills finished behind only conference player of the year Chance Gray in the league this winter in three-pointers made.
Shuluga burst on the scene in a big way in her freshman campaign for the Eagles. She earned five starts and was regularly the first option off the bench in non-starting games. Her final tally showed 7.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, including eight double-figure scoring games.
