North Penn senior Mikaela Giuliani became the 10th female in program history to surpass the 1,000-point mark.
By Mary Jane Souder
Mikaela Giuliani certainly knows how to take care of business.
The North Penn senior has been a study in consistency for a Lady Knights’ squad that is the top seed in the District One AAAA Tournament, averaging 12 points and eight rebounds. Last Saturday, Giuliani entered her team’s district opener against Penncrest needing 14 points to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
Logic suggested she might reach that number late in the second half. Giuliani did much better than that. After scoring 12 points in an explosive first quarter, the senior forward connected on the historical basket midway through the second quarter when she took a pass from Jess Huber and rolled to the hoop for two, setting off a spontaneous celebration at midcourt.
“I didn’t think that’s how it was going to go down,” Giuliani said when it was over. “I was trying my best not to think about it.
“There wasn’t anything specific to get me the ball every time. We knew if it was going to happen it would happen, and if not, we just had to pull out the win, and I would be able to get it the next time.”
Giuliani is the 10th female in program history to reach the milestone and the 14th in school history. She is in some elite company.
“It feels awesome,” she said. “My freshman year I watched Lauren Crisler get it, and then my sophomore (year) I saw Vicky (Tumasz),” she said. “I actually saw Steph Knauer get it when I was in eighth grade. I know how important it is and how much it means. I’m really excited about it.”
The 6-1 forward has been in the Lady Knights’ starting lineup since midway through her freshman year.
“She’s been a presence in the middle, and when you say that about somebody, you look at a person and you think they’re going to be real big,” deMarteleire said. “She’s thin, but her stats have been extremely consistent.
“I think one time during the middle of the season she had a little bit of a slump where she had two games where she scored in single digits, and that hardly ever happens with her. I said to her, ‘I want you to achieve this milestone for yourself. You’re this close,’ and that’s the last we talked about it. I was praying that today she’d come out relaxed, and she did. She was very relaxed.”
As a junior, Giuliani averaged close to a double-double with 10 points and just under 10 rebounds a game.
“She’s very, very solid,” deMarteleire said. “She’s a good rebounder. When she’s not in the game, there are times when we struggle to rebound.”
Giuliani entered the season knowing there was a possibility she could reach the 1,000-point plateau since the number of points she needed was less than the number she’d scored last year.
“I knew I had a chance, but it wasn’t something I was thinking about,” she said. “I was just thinking about getting out there and winning. That was my main focus – my team.”
Giuliani, who has been playing basketball since she was five or six, admits she is a different player than the one who took the court as a rookie.
“My freshman I would get the ball and I really didn’t shoot that much,” she said. “I was nervous, and I was scared, but I think as time has gone on, my teammates have lifted me up, my coach has lifted me up, and I’ve just gained that confidence, and that’s why I’m here.
“My freshman year I looked up to Lauren (Crisler). She was going D-1, and it was great to have her kind of put me under her wing. Being in the same spot she was and being able to accomplish that is just a really amazing feeling.”
deMarteleire pointed to Giuliani’s body control as her biggest area of improvement.
“Her freshman and sophomore years, she fouled a lot trying to block shots,” the Lady Knights’ coach said. “She’s so long and she got called for a lot of fouls.
“Her body control has become so much better, and she can block shots now without getting called for fouls.”
Giuliani, who finished with 23 points in last Saturday’s 63-18 rout of Penncrest, says she took advantage of the team’s two days off after capturing the SOL Tournament title the preceding Monday.
“After Monday’s game, I think I missed 11 layups – I was really off, so those two days off, I went to the gym and I spent two hours there both days with my dad just working on stuff,” Giuliani said. “I think I just had to get my confidence back so I could come in here and finish it up.”
Giuliani – who competed on the AAU circuit with Montgomery Fusion - has scored 20-plus points in both of North Penn’s district wins, but she does more than just score points.
“She does a good job defensively of protecting the basket,” deMarteleire said. “She works hard and she does all the dirty work.
“She runs 94 feet, and she runs the floor exceptionally well. We always talk to the kids about – ‘Reward Mikaela for running up and down the court. If you get her with one person on her back, throw her the ball,’ and they do. The girls did a good job today. I was very excited – she deserves it.”
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