Tough enough to lead title charge?

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA - The point guard doesn't hesitate when describing the mentality it takes to compete on the court.

"I've always loved hitting people ... you know, like football," the point guard said. "I always loved tackling people and being that one that would just harness all my energy and pummel you to the ground."

That's not a quote from Lakers point guard Derek Fisher. That's not Philadelphia 76ers superstar Allen Iverson. That's the 5-foot-5, 140-pound ball of energy that is Madison McKenney, the point guard who has helped the Santa Margarita girls basketball team reach the CIF-SS Division 3A finals against Muir of Pasadena on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Mater Dei High.

Click here for a preview capsule of the Santa Margarita-Muir game.

Click here for a closer look at some of Santa Margarita's players.

"I don't mind getting hit," McKenney said. "I find taking charges one of the funnest things in basketball, because I play guard so I'm not in the post where I can hit and bump and grind and be real physical with you. Because the guards, you have to watch where your hands are and you can't get real close because that could be a foul. So taking charges is how I get my physical in."

So where did this tiny tough girl get her tenacity?

Her older brother played tennis at Santa Margarita. Her father was a tennis and football player, and her mother was a baton twirler.

"My dad kind of pushed me into being hard working and motivated," McKenney said. "But a lot of it came from me. I was just always that rowdy, outgoing little person that would just give you my all, just prove why I can hang with you."

McKenney grew up playing basketball, soccer, tennis, football and baseball. Football and baseball? With the boys?

"Ever since I was a little girl I always played with the guys," McKenney said. "I've always done guys' sports. I played football. I was a tight end/wide receiver. I played baseball, so that's how I got my arm and I got tough from football. I played (baseball) 'til about Triple-A, two years of Triple-A and then I stopped. I was a pitcher. All these sports definitely helped me into what I do now and do what I do best."

McKenney said she was supposed to be "super tall" because her dad is 6-foot and her mom is 5-9, but she got the "grandma gene." Let's face it, if she were 6-3 she might be classified as a lethal weapon. But her size has never held her back, even against the guys.

"I was always the smaller one," she said. "I was always the one that would come out of nowhere and they'd be like, 'Oh my God, you have a girl on your team. Wow.' Always that one person that just made people go, 'What is she doing in there in that odd situation?' I just love proving myself to everybody in every moment. Even in summer camps I would always want to play with the boys who were older than me just to prove that I could hang with them. I just love proving to people why I do what I do.

"I like playing against guys because they were tougher," McKenney said. "They could take hits that I would give them or chucks in the post or use my hands to be real aggressive and swipe the ball. A lot of girls that I used to play against would go like, 'Whoah, she's too aggressive.' Guys definitely toughen you up."

McKenney started playing basketball when she was 5 years old and it was always her first love.

"It (basketball) was always the most intricate," McKenney said. "You weren't just hitting the ball back-and-forth and moving side-to-side or kicking the ball. You were defending, sliding, jumping, passing, dribbling and doing everything (in basketball). The complexity made it fun, because there's always something going on. You're never standing and waiting for something to happen. It's happening right in the moment."

Melissa Zornig, a three-time All-County selection and the Eagles' all-time leading scorer, calls McKenney the ultimate teammate and a great friend.

Zornig, center Elise Lorenz and Denise Fernandez have played together the past three years. They are the core group that has helped Santa Margarita get back to the finals for the first time since 2006.

"I came here in my sophomore year way back when I was little," McKenney said. "So we've been a tight unit ever since. The past couple of years we eat lunch together every day. We talk all the time. We hang out. We're really tight. We're one unit."

McKenney said she feeds off of her teammates and draws her energy from them

"A lot of my energy comes from how my day went and how excited I am about what's to come, how my teammates are feeling and all the fun we're having in the team van right before," McKenney said. "Then when game time comes it's all straight face, get ready to go and put it all on the floor. Everything's got to be left on the floor because you never know when it's going to be your last game is coming. Last year it happened to us in the semifinals and this year we're still going strong."

No matter what, this won't be the Eagles final game. By reaching the finals they are guaranteed a berth in the Division 3 state tournament. And McKenney will be going on to play at Cal State Bakersfield, which moves into the Big West Conference next year.

"I'm really excited," McKenney said of receiving a scholarship from Cal State Bakersfield. "I've been working hard for years. I've been playing since I was 5. Thirteen years of dedication to achieve my one goal, which was trying to get a scholarship somewhere."

Contact the writer: Follow Carlos Arias at twitter.com/losocvarsity.