By Staff
NILES - Sarah Dreher, a senior at Niles High School, has been recognized as one of the finest basketball players in the country through her nomination to the fifth annual McDonald's All American High School Girls Basketball Team.
At the boy's varsity game on Feb. 17, Dreher was presented with a nomination certificate by a local McDonald's representative.
Dreher is one of 1,000 female prep basketball standouts in the nation nominated by the McDonald's All American Basketball Team Selection Committee, a group of nationally prominent basketball experts.
As a nominee, the 5'11” forward will be considered for one of the 24 slots on the final McDonald's All American High School Basketball Team that will compete in the fifth annual McDonald's All American High School Girls Basketball Game. The final team will be announced in late February.
Dreher leads her team by averaging 21.9 points-per-game and is the Lady Vikes' leading rebounder with an average of 9.5 rebounds per game. Sarah's coach is Jim Arnold and her parents are Diane and Gary Dreher, originally from Niles (now living in Buchanan).
The McDonald's All American Girls Game will be played on March 29 at Cox Arena on the campus of San Diego State University in San Diego, with tip-off at 4:30 p.m. (PST) and will be broadcast on ESPN2 (April 6 at 10 a.m. PST). Additionally, this year marks the 29th anniversary of the McDonald's All American Boys Game, which will also be played Wednesday, March 29 at the Cox Arena in San Diego. The Boys Game will be broadcast live on ESPN during primetime at 7 p.m. PST (10 p.m. EST).
Proceeds from both Games will benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities(RMHC) of San Diego. In addition to the Ronald McDonald Houses, RMHC programs include the Ronald McDonald Family Room and the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile - extending the reach of the Charity to directly improve the health and well-being of children in neighborhoods around the world. To date, nearly $5 million has been donated to RMHC from proceeds generated at the McDonald's All American Games.
McDonald's All American alumni include current Women's NCAA stars Candace Parker (Tennessee), Ivory Latta (North Carolina), and Seimone Augustus (LSU) as well as former NBA greats such as Michael Jordan (retired), Magic Johnson (retired), and current stars Kevin Garnett (Minnesota Timberwolves), LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets).
McDonald's Northern Indiana and Southwest Michigan co-op franchisees locally own and operate 89 McDonald's restaurants in South Bend, Fort Wayne and several surrounding communities. McDonald's is the leading foodservice retailer with more than 30,000 local restaurants serving quality food to nearly 50 million people in more than 100 countries each day.
Approximately 70 percent of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent, local businessmen and women.