By The TimesLedger
Francis Lewis coach Mike Eisenberg calls Maria Miaoulis “probably the most improved player in the city,” and the TimesLedger PSAL Player of the Year was a major reason the Patriots returned to the PSAL ‘A’ title game for a second straight season.
Eisenberg said the 5-foot-7 Miaoulis, who was always a forward when playing CYO and AAU, improved greatly because of her work during the summer.
“She worked tremendously hard during the off-season on her shooting,” he said. “She took hundreds of shots a day and made herself one of the top three point shooters in the city.”
From the end of last March until the start of this season, Miaoulis was rarely seen without a basketball in her hands. She went to the park by herself to shoot and occasionally played in pick-up games against the boys.
Miaoulis also played AAU ball with the Lady Magic during the summer and was one of the last out of the gym following Francis Lewis practices.
“She got a late start [playing guard],” Eisenberg said. “She’s trying to catch up and do in three years what most good guards have been already doing for five or six years.”
Miaoulis opened the season by scoring 23 points against Canarsie, but really made a name for herself in the Patriots’ 50-44 win over three-time defending PSAL champion Murry Bergtraum Jan. 13.
She scored a team-high 14 points, including 4-for-5 from three-point range and had three key threes in the second half.
“That was a very important game for her,” Eisenberg said of Lewis’ opening-day win over Canarsie. “It gave her the confidence and she saw that all her hard work over the summer paid off.”
Miaoulis, who Eisenberg said is probably the best defensive guard on the team, finished the season leading Lewis in scoring, averaging 13.6 points per game. She also connected on 58 three-pointers, had 4.5 rebounds per game and was 85 percent from the free throw line.
“It became a sign of respect when the other coaches would yell, ‘shooter, shooter’ when Maria had the ball,” Eisenberg said. “It’s a great compliment for her.”
If Miaoulis works as hard on her game this summer, college coaches will be tripping over each other to try and get the sharpshooter.
