Staff photo / Brian Yauger McDonald senior Molly Howard takes her turn cutting the nets after the regional championship win. Howard was named the Player of the Year by the Trumbull County Coaches Association on Monday.

Over the last four years, McDonald senior Molly Howard has been putting in the work to continue to improve her game.

That hard work was rewarded Monday morning as Howard was surprised by Newton Falls boys basketball coach and Trumbull County Coaches Association executive committee member Roy Sembach with the girls player of the year trophy.

“I was actually in class, it was so crazy,” Howard said. “I definitely was not expecting it at all. They handed me a trophy and I was so happy. I was so excited I didn’t even know how to react. I was blown away.”

Howard edged finalists Faith Burch of Harding and Emma Gumont of Champion.

In her senior year, Howard averaged 20 points per game for the Blue Devils and helped lead the team to the state finals. Howard also was named the All-Northeast Inland District player of the year, as well as a first-team member.

She had a crucial role in the regional wins and in the state semifinal, hitting big shots early to help the team earn quick leads.

“If you just look back at some of the games, the two regional games and the semi state semifinal, she got some big shots early to take some pressure off of us and that’s what she’s all about,” McDonald first-year coach Tony Matisi said. “She takes her role seriously. She can’t wait to play at the next level. She just likes to be pushed.”

From their first interaction over the summer, Matisi could tell she was a girl of action, rather than being a vocal leader.

“She leads by action more than being a ‘Rah, rah girl,’ but she’ll do that when it’s needed,” Matisi said. “But she likes to lead by example in everything she does on the floor. The first few practices we had last summer, I don’t think she said two or three words to me, but she let everything speak for herself on the floor. She was undoubtedly the leader of that group. They looked up to her. They followed her lead.”

Despite being the undisputed leader of the team, on and off the court, that doesn’t change the fact that Howard was a distributor at heart, prompting Matisi to remind her that she needed to shoot the ball more.

“All year long, I don’t know how many times we pulled her aside and said, ‘Molly, you’ve got to be more selfish,” Matisi said. “‘We want you to shoot 15 to 20 times,’ and she says ‘Coach, I don’t want to be a ballhog, I don’t want to be a ballhog.’ She’s so selfless.”

Even though she may be a selfless player, that hasn’t dampened her motivation.

As an eighth-grader transitioning to the high school level, Howard had her eyes set on varsity time and put the work in to make it happen. Fast forward to now, the four-year letterwinner has continued to make improvements goal-by-goal.

“I remember when I was in eighth grade, I was like ‘I want to play varsity so bad, I want to start varsity so bad,’ that was my goal,” Howard said. “Over the summer, I just did everything I could. I did a whole bunch of drills myself. I was out on the driveway all the time playing basketball just so I could get this done and then I did and then I continued to set goals for myself and continue to work hard for them and have it all happen.”

Howard’s main goal was to reach the state tournament, and the senior did everything she could to make that happen. She was the spark plug for the Blue Devils in their state semifinal win over Waterford, scoring a 3-pointer in the opening seconds.

“I think the biggest shot she made all year was in the first five seconds of the (state semifinals),” Matisi said. “It just let us breathe a little bit. We got out. We felt you know, we could hang on our own because that 3 she got in the opening seconds was so big.”

Matisi likened taking over the McDonald job to getting a new car with all the special features with Howard being the cruise control that always kept everything moving.

“I was so fortunate to be able to get the job in the first place, and it was like being given a brand new car,” he said. “What kind of options do you want in your car? You’ve got Molly, you’ve got a sister, you’ve got great guards. It kind of fell into my lap, but to have her drive in the car was awesome.”

As for the next step, Howard is continuing her basketball career at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, signing with the program back in November.

“Right now school-wise, I have a lot of different ideas on what I’d like to major in, but I’m thinking I want to go in undecided for my first year and get my general (classes) done and go from there,” Howard said. “Basketball-wise, I’m so excited. Obviously I’m playing at the next level so it’s going to be even heavier competition and it’s going to drive me to work super hard.

“I’m going in with the same mindset I went into eighth grade with where I want to play my freshman year, so I’m going to be putting some work in over the summer. I’m just super excited to get started there. It’s an awesome program I can’t wait.”

The Crimson Hawks have three-straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (West Division) championships and have made multiple deep tournament runs in recent years and were heading into the season as the fourth-ranked team in Division II before the season was canceled.

The 2021 McDonald senior class ended their careers as one of the most decorated classes in school history. With multiple seasons of 20 or more wins, two district titles, a regional title and a state finals appearance, the impact left by Howard and her classmates will be felt for a long time.

“There were so many accomplishments, but all of the summer leagues, bus rides and in the locker room, my team was so fun and silly,” Howard said about what she’ll remember most in the future. “We just had such a good relationship. There was never a bad time. They’re all good memories and I’ll probably remember everything we did.”