In his seventh season with McDonogh, Brad Rees guided the Eagles on an uphill battle to defend their Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland A Conference championship.
McDonogh started the season at No. 1 but dropped an early game to Roland Park and lost the No. 1 ranking for seven weeks. The Eagles won the second meeting with the Reds and then nipped them in overtime, 59-52, thanks to Kolbi Green's three free throws with no time left in regulation that sent the game into overtime.
After winning its third A Conference title in four years, McDonogh (28-3) went on to win the Bishop Walsh Girls Invitational Tournament, putting a cap on a season that included wins over powerful out-of-town teams, including Long Island Lutheran and Francis Lewis, both from New York.
"It's so hard to maintain, to perform under such high expectations game in and game out when you're expected to win playing a very difficult national schedule and those last three games [at Bishop Walsh] with almost no practice at all," Rees said. "These guys, as they have their whole careers, were able to somehow find a way to win under all circumstances. These seniors won 93 percent of the games they played. It's remarkable to maintain that kind of performance."
The Eagles returned three starters, including 2014 All-Metro Player of the Year Danielle Edwards, their point guard, and All-Metro guard Dajah Logan, but they needed a lot to fall into place to be able to repeat.
Their third senior, 6-2 center Jameira Johnson, provided a tough inside presence, especially on defense, as did 6-foot junior forward Andrea Robinson. Green, a sophomore guard, was a stellar perimeter shooter. Junior guard Savannah Buchanan and freshman guard Taleah Dixon also contributed many consistent minutes.
Rees, who has a career record of 158-38 with the Eagles, credited assistant coach Amy Brooks with playing a large role in the team's success.
In 1981, Rees began his coaching career as an assistant to Dave Greenberg at Mount Hebron, where he helped guide the Vikings to five state titles between 1986 and 1991. He coached there for 18 years. He took over the Eagles in the fall of 2008.
In his first season, the Eagles finished 14-9 and ranked No. 12. Since then, they have finished in the top six every year. They have been No. 1 two years in a row and in the top three for four years. They've won at least 20 games the past five seasons and gone 57-5 the past two seasons.