North Bergen’s Mendieta reaches 1,000-point milestone, shows many facets to game
When Betty Mendieta joined the girls’ basketball team at North Bergen High School three years ago, she never really had glories of grandeur.
"When I first started playing as a freshman, I just wanted to play for fun," Mendieta said. "I never had big goals about scoring."
Mendieta knew better than to dream about becoming a scoring champion, especially when there had been only four players in the history of the school to reach the prestigious 1,000-point plateau.
"It was never a goal of mine," Mendieta said. "I never even thought about it back then."
However, Mendieta almost instantly became more than just a role player for the Bruins. She was a starter as a freshman when North Bergen played for the HCIAA championship. She started to feel confident about her abilities after that breakthrough freshman campaign.
"After my freshman year, when we went to the finals, I knew that it would be a goal to get back there again," Mendieta said. "I began to feel better about the way I was playing. As the years kept passing and the numbers kept going, I started to think that it [the 1,000-point milestone] could actually happen."
North Bergen head coach Dan Reardon always felt Mendieta was an elite player.
"I really thought she always deserved more recognition that she received," Reardon said. "Betty showed everyone right away that she could play. I think she showed some patience and waited her turn. She was such a coachable kid that she never said anything."
Mendieta’s patience paid off last year, when, as a junior, she exploded into one of the finest players in Hudson County, averaging close to 17 points per game, earning Hudson Reporter All-Area First Team honors in the process.
However, she was not going to rest on any laurels. So during the summer months, Mendieta headed across the Hudson River to play with the highly-esteemed New York Gauchos AAU team, playing with some of the best players in the Metropolitan tri-state area.
"They played on another level altogether," Mendieta said. "The team is filled with high school All-Americans. With their hard work, it made me look at the game in a different way. They affected me and inspired me to get better. I knew I had a lot of work to do, just to keep up with them."
Mendieta was on the team that featured New Jersey standouts like Jasmine Dorsey of Bloomfield Tech, Shalinda Williams of Shabazz and Tahirah Williams of Immaculate Heart Academy.
"Playing with the Gauchos definitely helped," Reardon said. "You could definitely see the difference before this season began. She’s more confident, more mature. She was always a good defensive player, but now, she’s even better. She’s even more aggressive now. She’ll definitely pick your pocket if you’re not watching. She has a basketball sense, doing things that I know I never taught her."
There’s also something different about Mendieta this year as well.
"She has a good surrounding cast," Reardon said. "Betty knows she doesn’t have to score for us to win, but she’s still our go-to player."
Although Mendieta doesn’t have to score, she’s still getting her fair share of points. In the last week, she scored 26 against Dickinson, 20 against Emerson, 24 against St. Mary’s of Jersey City and the big night, scoring 25 against Ferris, including her 1,000th career point.
Mendieta became the fifth player in North Bergen history to reach the 1,000 points, joining Margaret Gesualdi, Fran Covino, Monica Rodriguez and Nana Durango.
"It’s pretty exciting," Mendieta said of the milestone. "I’m still in kind of shock about it. When it happened, it felt like just another basket, but then everyone started going wild, so I knew it had to be the 1,000th point. It really is amazing."
For her efforts, Mendieta has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week. Mendieta also earned the honor one week last season.
Mendieta definitely holds the title of "all-around athlete," because not only is she a standout basketball player, but she is also a member of the HCIAA champion cross country team in the fall and plans to continue to run track in the outdoor season in the spring. Mendieta was also a fine volleyball player, before turning to cross country last year in order to get in shape for the basketball season.
"I actually do miss playing volleyball, but I felt that running cross country was better for me," Mendieta said.
"She definitely could have been All-County in three sports," Reardon said. "She’s so good of an athlete that she just picked up the javelin for the first time last year and finished second in the county. She’s very athletic."
Mendieta is also an excellent student, ranked among the top 10 percent in the North Bergen senior class. Mendieta has set her sights on the Ivy League, with Columbia as one of the possible choices. Columbia is coached by North Bergen native Jay Butler, who was coached in high school by Reardon. Cornell has also shown some interest.
"It’s a really big thing on my mind and there’s so much pressure involved," Mendieta said. "I just don’t know where to go. It’s very stressful."
"Adelphi [an NCAA Division II school] wants her and all the [New Jersey] state schools want her," Reardon said. "But she really wants to play up a level."
Mendieta said that she hopes to major in sports marketing, wherever she goes.
Reardon just adores coaching Mendieta.
"She has a great smile and does whatever we ask," Reardon said. "Everyone loves her in the school. She’s fun to be with and all the kids respect her. She’s fun to be with. She’s like the spiritual leader of the team. It’s not all about her. She cheers for everyone else and helps everyone. She doesn’t come close to having a big head."
Mendieta didn’t want to talk about her achievements. She would have rather talked about the Bruins’ impressive 10-3 record.
"Right now, it’s the best of all worlds," Mendieta said. "We’re winning and I just hope we can keep it up. I hope we can win the big games because before I leave, I want to get a jacket bad."
If Mendieta keeps playing this well, chances are that she’ll be getting measured for a leather-sleeved red and gold jacket sometime soon. – Jim Hague