News on ex-Monarch Giuliana Mendiola

StevenHW

Starter
(Knowing that Luv13 will take more than a passing interest in this news)

From:
http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3229062


GIULIANA MENDIOLA AGREES TO TERMS WITH LOS ANGELES AFTERSHOCK
10/07/05 - American Basketball Association (ABA) Los Angeles Aftershock


Head Coach Andre Smith of the LA Aftershock announced Thursday that the team has agreed to terms with former Pac 10 Women's Player of the Year Giuliana Mendiola for the 2005-2006 ABA season. Mendiola, a 5' 11 Guard, averaged 21 points a game for the University of Washington Huskies and went on to the Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA.


Coach Smith stated that "Giuliana can flat out play, so its an easy decision." "She is one of the better technical players on the team, and her decision making is impressive" Smith went on to say, adding that Mendiola "wont have to win us any games with the talent and depth that we have, but she will get minutes, get better, and make us proud of her when shes back in the WNBA."



Mendiola was the 2003 Pac-10 Women's Player of the Year, where she also led the Lady Huskies in scoring, assists and rebounds.



She is the only basketball player in Pac-10 history to score 1500 points, grab 700 rebounds, and dish out 600 assists. Giuliana was a three time all Pac 10 first team performer, and had career highs of 43 and 41 points against UCLA and USC respectively.



Mendiola joins Nick Sheppard and Darwin Carter on the Aftershock, who will begin play at Los Angeles College Southwest in November.



For more information on the Aftershock, visit www.laaftershock.com. For tickets, call (714) 470-1122.

For more information on the ABA, visit www.abalive.com.
 
At first, I thought the ABA was a men's league. But I guess they allow some women to play in their teams too.
 
The Luv is back...

Already been in touch with the Organization,

She is also scheduled to make a trip to San Francisco. She seems to be doing well in practices, and I am thrilled with that because that should increase her speed. Can't wait to see her again.:)

I hope she sees playing time but she may not. However; The Day to Day grinde with guys can't hurt her at all. And I really hope this is the first step to seeing her back in the W.
 
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Article from the Seattle Times

Here is another article, from the Seattle Times:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2002557606_mendiola13.html


Basketball: Mendiola ready to hoop it up in men's league


By Greg Bishop
Seattle Times staff reporter

Giuliana Mendiola doesn't know what to make of all the fuss. Yes, she will play for the Los Angeles Aftershock in the ABA this season. Sure, it's a men's league. And in the interest of clearing up confusion, she does check the box marked "female" on applications.

While her gender will inevitably draw as much attention as her jump shot, Mendiola isn't interested in becoming the ABA's latest sideshow. She would rather someone in the WNBA take notice of her fluency in basketball's universal language.

"The only difference between me and the guys is that I wear a sports bra," Mendiola said in a telephone interview from her family's Southern California home yesterday. "We're all basketball players."

Pardon Mendiola if she sounds a bit naïve. She has been playing against the opposite sex her entire life.

First at home, against her brothers, on the dirt court in the family's back yard. Then on an AAU team in Southern California, when Mendiola elected to play with her twin brother, Lucciano, instead of against girls.

There's a story from her first AAU tournament against the boys that's been told before. There were 449 males in the league and one female. Mendiola's team stormed back from a 14-point deficit at halftime of their first game. Parents from the other team were screaming.

"How can you lose to a chick? Foul the chick!"

Mendiola calmly dropped nine free throws, and her team won by 12 points.

At Washington, Mendiola won Pac-10 player of the year in 2003 and remains the only player in Pac-10 women's basketball history to tally 1,500 points, 700 rebounds and 600 assists. At UW, Mendiola and the Huskies practiced against men.

"That's not the only time we played them," Mendiola said. "My sister [Gioconda, also a former UW player] and I used to play Nate Robinson and Will Conroy. We beat them before. I want that on record. We have witnesses."

So the stage is set. A girl who once played against the boys has decided to play against the men. The boys are bigger. So are the stakes.

With a chance to become the first female to see action in an ABA game, Mendiola knows she will stand out. She just hopes it's for the right reasons. After being cut by Sacramento last year — she played for the Monarchs of the WNBA two seasons ago, then played professionally in Greece — Mendiola hopes playing against men will answer questions about her athleticism.

That's always been the knock. Too slow. But because men are naturally more athletic than women, Mendiola reasons, if she can play with them, maybe the WNBA will notice she can play with women, too.

"As long as she can play, as long as she won't get hurt and can handle her own, we're definitely open to it," said Andre Smith, the team's coach and general manager. "This is going to be a good thing for us and the league. Basketball is basketball. Everyone wants to make a big deal out of this.

"There are women basketball players who can flat-out play. Giuliana can flat-out play."

Smith saw that in the Aftershocks' first practice (they open the season in early November and play at least three games in the Seattle area). Male players were hesitant. They didn't want to injure a fragile girl. Then she set, according to Smith, a "monster" screen on Nick Sheppard, a 6-foot-11 center who played at Pepperdine. At that point, Smith said, his players "got the message."

Mendiola will play off guard for the Aftershocks, same as in the WNBA. She played point guard at UW and said of her time here, "I miss everything about it."

During her time in Seattle, three Mendiola brothers were arrested and charged for their roles in the murder of a 20-year-old Idaho man. Two brothers, Piero and Eddie, are out of prison. Only Giovanni, who pleaded guilty in order, he said, to reduce his brothers' sentences, remains. Giuliana said he's eligible for parole in about six years, and the family is currently working on appeals they can't discuss.

Meanwhile, Mendiola will spend her fall playing against men.

"I'm not worried about how people are looking at it," she said. "I can play basketball. Hopefully, that's the way they see me. As a basketball player."

Greg Bishop: 206-464-3191 or gbishop@seattletimes.com

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:)
 

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