Danielle Migliore
What happens when you mix one of the best scorers in the entire state of New York with teammates who can also put the ball in the basket and a pass first point guard who will get it to the scorers? You get one of the best scorers in New York that no longer has to do it against 5 defenders. If it sounds scary, that's because it was, and Danielle Migliore made virtually everyone.. or two.. or three that matched up against her pay dearly.
There are many different things Migliore can do on the court, but scoring is certainly at the top of the list of strengths. Her ability to put points on the board is a big reason why she was officially a Division I commit within the first month of her junior basketball season, when she verballed to St. Bonaventure of the Atlantic 10. At her high school, Class C Frankfort-Schuyler, she's already scored 1,300 points for her career, and she averaged 27.4 per game this year. Everyone knows she's the one to stop, but she still gets it done because she can score in a variety of ways. Migliore showed that throughout the summer at Union College, but playoff Saturday was a microcosm of what was shown in every other week she was here.
In the semifinal against Havoc, Migliore had the jumper falling. Really falling. She used a couple made threes to open up the drive, got to the line a few times, then as soon as the defender took a step back, she knocked down a couple more. At one point, she hit a 24 footer with a defender crowding her that great scorers would even consider a heat check. Then she used her ballhandling ability to break defenders down and get to the rim. Then she used the fact that everyone was paying attention to her to get others involved. She had 28 points while shooting 5/7 from beyond the arc in a 43-28 win over Havoc.
In the finals against top-seeded Outwork, the jumper wasn't really falling. It didn't stop her from making a serious offensive impact. With the whistle being a little tighter than normal, she got to the rim over and over again, initiating contact and making a home at the free throw line. Migliore finished with a game high 26, despite only having 4 field goals. She went a ridiculous 16/21 from the free throw line, mostly coming from getting her way to the rim and inviting contact. She had two field goals after halftime - both threes. She was fouled on one, and the other made three was a big one to give All Day a 4 point lead with 2 minutes remaining, possibly the shot attempt with the highest degree of difficulty all day. With great contributions from Glens Falls sisters Lucy & Sophie Tougas, All Day was able to take home the finals victory with 55 of their 57 points coming from 3 people.
She was the best offensive player in the league; the only one that you could put the ball in their hands when you need a basket and legitimately expect (not just hope or think, expect) her to make it happen. Despite not being in action for 5 of All Day's 12 games, she not only led the league in points per game (at 23.43, 9 PPG higher than 2nd place on the list), but she even led the league in TOTAL points with 164. She had the league's 3 highest single-game scoring performances in the regular season with 33, 29, and 25; add Saturday's playoffs with her 28 & 26 point games, and she had the league's 5 highest scoring games. Migliore made 54 free throws on the season - 2nd place made 28. She made 27 in two playoff games alone. The only scoring category she wasn't leading was 3 pointers made - her 18 threes made was good for 3rd in the league, behind Catholic Central's Abby Fountain (19) and the leader, her high school teammate at Frankfort-Schuyler, Danielle Caivana (20).
What gets lost in the midst of her scoring outbursts, people talking about her scoring outbursts, me typing paragraphs about her scoring outbursts, etc... is the fact that there's much more to her game. When defenses are overloading her, she can look more like teammate Lucy Tougas lacing passes to teammates. With her strength and good anticipation, she's a very good rebounder for a 2 guard. She became more and more willing to defend the opposing team's best player as the summer went on, and that same ability to anticipate mixed with long arms & quick hands help her rack up steals. With Danielle on the floor, the team was instantly competitive against anyone, no matter how low their numbers were. That is what makes future Bonnie Danielle Migliore the inaugural girls' league MVP.
Danielle Migliore
Frankfort-Schuyler HS
Class of 2016
5'7"
7 games played
23.43 PPG (1st in league)
164 total points (1st in league)
54 Free Throws Made (1st in league; 54/79 - 68.4%)
18 3 Pointers Made (3rd in league)
Season High 33
5 games of 25+ points
5 highest single-game scoring outputs in girls' league (33, 29, 28, 26, 25)
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