MS. BASKETBALL Versatility defines Dayton star guard

Maria Getty has led Chaminade-Julienne to state semifinals for third time.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Maria Getty has a 3.9-grade point average, so it takes a difficult question to stump her.
Ask her to describe her strengths as a basketball player, however, and she's at a loss. She hesitates. She falters. She stumbles over the words.
Maybe she just can't decide. Getty, who is bound for Villanova, is solid at almost everything on a court. That's why she's the 2005 Associated Press Ms. Basketball in Ohio.
Yet it's hard to pin down precisely why she's so good because she's so good in so many areas and has so few weaknesses: She can shoot, she handles the ball, she makes good decisions with or without the ball, and she may just be one of the best defenders in the state.
Her biggest strength might be that she is so focused on team play and winning games. No wonder she doesn't have a pat answer for what her role is for state-bound Dayton Chaminade-Julienne.
"I'm not like any huge, physical presence or anything," she said after a long pause. "But I just kind of find ways to score sometimes. I just help my team out. I try to put my team in positions that it can succeed."
Success has followed Getty throughout her time at Chaminade-Julienne, a Catholic school located near downtown Dayton. This week she will take the state's No. 2-ranked team to the state semifinals for the third time.
'Unrelenting desire to win'
Her coach, Marc Greenberg, doesn't have to stretch for words when he describes his point guard.
"You will see a kid out there who has an unrelenting desire to win," he said. "She just does not accept anything but the best from herself and her team. That's what drives her and makes her so special. You're going to see a kid who can take people off the dribble and hit the 3, but at the end of the day what separates her is her desire and her intensity level."
The 5-foot-7 senior averages 14.6 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists while shooting 43 percent from 3-point range. The only numbers that really matter to her are C-J's 23-2 record.
Other candidates for the 18th Ms. Basketball award included: Star Allen (Columbus Independence), Rachele Fitz (Garfield Heights Trinity), Megan Skouby (Mentor), Marshae Dotson (Columbus Mifflin), Alyssa Hammond (Oak Hill), Jessica McKenzie (Zanesville West Muskingum), Carla Jacobs (South Euclid Regina), Gretchen Polinski (Mansfield St. Peter's), Shana Andrus (Barberton) and Megan Frazee (Xenia Christian).
This weekend, the Eagles take on Sylvania Northview (25-1) Friday night in the 30th state girls tournament.
Even though Getty is back to the final four for a third time, it never gets old.