On Feb. 15 junior Gabriella Mittelman scored her 1,000th point for Northern Valley Demarest’s girls basketball team. Her name will be forever added to the banner in the South Gym that lists all the names of Demarest’s basketball players that have scored this many points. Having 1,000 career points at NVD has been Mittelman’s goal since her freshman year, and after just three winter seasons she made it.
“I feel like we had a very historic season. We have done a lot of things that have never been done before. We have the best school record – 23 wins – and also this was the first time we’d ever been to a Bergen County finals and a sectional finals,” Mittelman said.
Not only has Gaby accomplished this school record, but the 2025 girls varsity team has pulled out an incredible season. In a winning streak they won their first 10 games in a row, and during their last game they came incredibly close to winning the Sectional Title trophy against Morris Knolls High School. There the ending score was just 62-64.
“Even though I’m disappointed [the season] had to end, all good things have an end. I’m really excited to get back to work for next year,” Mittelman said.
Mittelman and Deana Finkelstein are listed as Big-North Conference All Stars by the NJ Advance Media basketball staff. Earlier in the season, when Mittelman shot her 1,000th point, all of her teammates rushed to hug her on the court.
“The feeling of the ball leaving my fingertips felt nothing short of the fact that it was going in. Seeing the ball go through the net and then feeling my teammates surround me afterwards was a moment I’m never going to forget,” Mittelman said.
The score happened in the 2nd half of the 3rd quarter after she received a cross court pass from one of her teammates from the right wing to the left wing.
“It is an honor to have achieved it because it’s a reflection that all of the hard work you’ve put in it finally paid off. But, obviously at the end of the day it is just another achievement that proves you’ve just gotta keep working and keep getting better.”
Mittelman is ranked as one of the top female basketball players in Bergen County. She is going to join five other girls already on the 1,000 point banner which will even out the ratio of girls to boys who have achieved this.
“Having my name on that banner in the south gym will just add to how special this season has been for our program,” Mittelman said. “I’ve celebrated this accomplishment by spending time with my teammates, coaches, and family, who have helped me throughout my journey of high school basketball and have played huge roles in helping me achieve this milestone.”
