O'Hara's Mackenzie Gardler Keeps A Strong Basketball Legacy Thriving

PHILADELPHIA, PA (CBS) — At first, Mackenzie Gardler aspired to be a cheerleader, not exactly aware of her strong basketball roots. She would beg her mother to go to cheer camps, and her mom would come up with some excuse why she couldn't go. Missing paperwork. The camp was cancelled. A passing storm blew the camp away. You name it.

Mackenzie's basketball DNA didn't need prompting to surface. It was bound to happen. Mackenzie's grandfather, Bud, played for St. Joe's and was a legendary coach at Cardinal O'Hara and her father, Chris, played for St. Joe's, too. Then there's her mother, Katie Curry, who was one of the nation's top three-point shooters when she was a Hawk.

Her Aunt Meghan Gardler was a former O'Hara star and Catholic League MVP who went on to play for national champion Connecticut.

But Mackenzie, a sophomore star at O'Hara, may have something over all of them—the best jump shot. And something else—the beginning of a new legacy as a Villanova commit, a decision she made back in December.

A two-year starter, Mackenzie is going to play a major role in O'Hara's run at the Catholic League title. She's averaging 11 points a game, but in the Lions' most important games this year, the guard with the distinct bouncing blonde ponytail that trails her after each shot has torched nationally ranked Neumann-Goretti for 19 points and Catholic League powerhouse Archbishop Wood for 14.

For someone who was initially reluctant to follow the family hoops path, Mackenzie has held up her famous surname well.

"It's kind of funny because when I was really young, I didn't want to be a basketball player at all, I wanted to be a cheerleader," Mackenzie recalled. "I begged my mom to go to cheer camps. Then in first grade, when my Aunt Meghan played at UConn, I thought it was great that their team was No. 1 in the country. That changed everything.

"In first grade, the boys asked me to be on their team. But it was an all-boys' league, so I asked my mom to start a girls' team. Truthfully, I didn't want to play at all until first grade. My parents did not care if I played basketball or not."

When she was a baby her father Chris was an assistant coach under her grandfather Bud. Chris would always take Mackenzie to home games. Some of her first baby steps were on the very court she's playing on now.

"You can say that," said Mackenzie, the oldest of four. "I was raised around the game."

Then Mackenzie hesitated for a second and laughed … "But I have the best shot of all of them," she said. "My dad taught me how to shoot, but my mom says my shot comes from her."

Mackenzie and O'Hara seem destined for a collision course with Neumann-Goretti in the Catholic League championship on Monday, at 6:30 p.m. at the Palestra.

But even if O'Hara loses in the Catholic League finals, the Lions are a PIAA Class AAAA team, eligible to continue playing for the PIAA District 12 and PIAA state Class AAAA championship, considering Neumann-Goretti is a Class AA team.

The Lions are a very talented team, led by junior guard Hannah Nihill, a Drexel commit, along with Mackenzie.

In the meantime, her grandfather will watch from a distance and offer sage advice, her parents will continue supporting her in everything she does (except cheerleading), and she'll continue tormenting opposing teams with her deadly shot.

"This next month will be a lot of fun, playing a lot," Mackenzie said. "We have some huge games ahead and some big battles. We lost in the Catholic League quarterfinals last year. There is a feeling we have to make up for a few things from last year."