Spotlight athlete: Ariel Cummings, Notre Dame Academy

3/8/2018
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    Notre Dame's Ariel Cummings (34) picks up a steal from Whitmer's Jenna Thomas (10) in the January 25 Three Rivers Athletic Conference basketball matchup at Whitmer in Toledo.

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  • A 6-foot-2 senior, Ariel Cummings capped her high school career by helping the Eagles to a 21-5 finish, which included a perfect 14-game run to win the Three Rivers Athletic Conference and a Division I district title.

    It was Notre Dame’s seventh consecutive TRAC title and its sixth district championship in seven seasons.

    Ariel Cummings
    Ariel Cummings

    Cummings, who will play at the University of Toledo, averaged 11.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.8 blocked shots per game, shooting 54 percent from the field and 57 percent at the foul line.

    Her career-high, single-game scoring and top rebounding outputs came in her junior year, when she scored 28 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead the Eagles to a 75-59 upset of top-ranked Newark in a D-I state semifinal. She was 12-for-17 from the field and also blocked four shots in that victory for Notre Dame, which finished 26-4 with a loss to Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame in the state final.

    This season Cummings was named TRAC player of the year, and she was also selected to the All-Northwest District first team.

    “Ariel has shown great improvement from one season to the next,” Notre Dame coach Travis Galloway said. “Her offseason work ethic and in-season desire to get better has made her a dominant post player.

    “She developed the ability to be a go-to offensive player, as well impact the game in a major way on the defensive end. Ariel was a big reason that we won a TRAC championship and a district championship.”