Steph Knauer became just the seventh female basketball player at North Penn to reach the 1,000-point plateau. To view photos of the historic occasion on Tuesday night, please visit the Photo Gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/g/010312_north_penn_vs_cb_west_dl#l_dl_25860_69_4_16
DOYLESTOWN – Steph Knauer has had her eyes on a banner that hangs in North Penn High School’s gymnasium for quite some time. On that banner is a list of the female players who have surpassed the magical 1,000-point plateau. The list isn’t an especially long one. As a matter of fact, it contained only six names.
“Every game I would look up there,” the Maidens’ senior center said. “I remember seeing Lindsay Sock up there and saying, ‘I really want to be with that girl.”
Knauer ensured herself a spot on the banner and in the record books at North Penn when – with 6:23 remaining in the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s game at Central Bucks West – she buried the second of two foul shots. The shot vaulted Knauer to the 1,000-point mark, igniting the large contingent of North Penn faithful who made the trip to Doylestown to witness the historic moment.
Knauer is the first Maiden to reach that milestone since Sock did it in 2003.
“It’s amazing,” Knauer said. “I’ve worked so hard since my freshman year to get it, and I’m so glad it’s finally here.”
The game was halted as Knauer was mobbed by jubilant teammates and showered with flowers and balloons. The Maidens’ senior captain admitted that a weight has been lifted off her shoulders.
“It’s too much pressure, and I know for my teammates it’s too much pressure,” Knauer said. “I don’t want them to force the ball in to me. I want our team to just play our own game and win that way.”
With the Bucks making a concerted effort to keep the ball out of Knauer’s hands, the Maidens didn’t force the issue. As a matter of fact, Knauer – who needed just six points to reach the milestone - had very few touches in the first half and had only four points at halftime.
“Oh my god, they were really covering me, and I didn’t know how it was going to go,” Knauer said.
The Maidens scored just five points in the third quarter – Knauer didn’t have any, but when she was fouled going up after pulling down an offensive rebound, the stage had been set for the big basket. The senior captain – who was a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line – buried the first foul shot and then hit nothing but net on the second to secure her spot in program history.
“She’s a pretty cool cucumber,” coach Maggie deMarteleire said. “But before the game, she was a little nervous.
“I said, ‘Don’t force the ball into her. If nothing else, she can get the rebounds.’ They did a nice job defensively on her, but she just does such a good job rebounding. She’s such a physical presence on the offensive end and defensive end, and she just makes everybody else around her play better.”
Knauer finished Tuesday’s game with 10 points and seven rebounds. Six of those points came in the pivotal fourth quarter when it mattered most.
“She’s one of our leading scorers, and she rebounds exceptionally well,” senior captain Brenda McDermott said. “Without her – she was hurt in the offseason, and you could tell there was a piece missing from us. She just holds us all together.”
“She’s a great leader on the court also,” junior captain Lauren Crisler added. “She gets us pumped up before games. She really just hustles hard, and it gets us going on offense and defense.”
Knauer – who will be taking her talents to Shippensburg University next year – has added her name to an elite list that includes the best in North Penn’s storied history. She joins Ebiho Ahonkhai (1992), Jen Houser (1996), Jami Wilus (1998), Amber Smolinski (1999), Adelina Gentry (2002) and Lindsay Sock (2003).
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