Published: March 26, 2008 12:03 am            

Maurer excited to prove herself at the next level

DAVIDSVILLE — Conemaugh Township girls basketball star Megan Maurer, who had earlier committed to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, made it official on Tuesday by signing a letter of intent at the high school.

“I was looking at other schools to play basketball, but when I got a letter from West Point, I was shocked,” said Maurer, who wore an Army t-shirt as she penned her signature.

“I never thought I’d be able to get in,” she said. “I have wanted to go to the military. I’ve thought about it, and now, finally, that the opportunity was in front of me, I wanted to take it.”

Maurer knows what she’s getting into. An older brother left earlier in the day to report for duty at Fort Sill, Okla., and she has three cousins who are West Point graduates.

“I think the whole thing is going to be a challenge, from the first day of basic training until the day I graduate,” she said. “But, that’s what I’m looking for the most. I like challenges, and I like pushing myself to see how far I can go. I think I will have to do my best every day. When I graduate, everything is going to be worth it. I want to continue to be a leader.”

Maurer’s leadership helped Conemaugh Township almost since the moment she transferred from Bishop McCort in her sophomore year.

“She made a difference from the first time she touched the ball for us,” Indians coach Joe DiBartola said. “She brought a lot to the team, and really made the team complete.”

The 6-foot-1 center filled the Indians’ need for a big girl inside. Conemaugh Township won District 5 championships in each season of her three-year career, and claimed the WestPAC championship last year.

“Her presence on the court demands a lot of attention,” DiBartola said. “It’s tough to play ball with people on your arms all the time inside the paint. She was double-teamed and triple-teamed and maybe she didn’t get the points in a particular game, but she allowed other people to get points because other teams were paying so much attention to her.

“She averages about 10 points a game,” DiBartola said. “She has a number of double-doubles. She was valuable not only for scoring, but she blocked a lot of shots and got a lot of rebounds.”

Although Maurer played volleyball and ran track until this year, basketball was her forte.

She is a 1,000-point career scorer who was named Most Valuable Player and a first-team member of the All-Somerset County girls team as a junior. She also was District 5 player of the year last year and reclaimed the title this year.

At West Point, Maurer will play for former St. Francis University men’s coach Dave Magarity, who was hired as a Black Knights assistant in October 2005 and took over the program after the unexpected death of head coach Maggie Dixon in April 2006.

Maurer said Magarity indicated he may ask her to play point guard, a position with which she has no experience. But, she said she is determined to do whatever is necessary to succeed.

She already has shown that determination in gaining entry to the academy.

“The coaches told her she wouldn’t have to worry about an appointment because they recruited her and had one reserved,” said her father, Matt Maurer. “But, she went through the process with (Congressman) John Murtha. That’s a pretty grueling process. He doesn’t just dish them out. But, she did what she had to do and got picked as his appointment. So, she has that appointment and the appointment from recruitment, too.”

Maurer said she plans to study law and hopes to become an officer in the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corp (JAG), a widely diverse military law practice that handles criminal and military cases in this country, deals with international law and provides legal assistance to military personnel.

Meanwhile, she will be missed at Conemaugh Township.

“She’s going to be difficult to replace,” DiBartola said. “This whole team is going to be difficult to replace. They’ve set the tone of what is going to be expected of Lady Indians basketball. People expect us to win, and their legacy, what they leave to these kids that will be playing next year, is a desire, a passion, a hungriness to win. That’s good to build on.”

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.