NCS Senior of the Year
NATALIE ROMEO, G, CARONDELET
Natalie Romeo, Prep2Prep's North Coast Section Senior of the Year, has spent the last four years at Carondelet carving up defenses with kick out
passes, fakes, crisp 3-point shooting, and unrelenting hustle.
In 32 games this season, Romeo averaged 19.8 points, 7.8 assists, 5.6 steals, and 5.1 rebounds per game. She made two-point field
goals at a 52 percent clip, converted 30 percent of her 183 3-point attempts, and finished with a 72 percent mark from the line.
She achieved back-to-back triple doubles in December (one against Brookside Christian), and came very close on a number of other occasions.
Her career numbers hovered at 17 points, about six rebounds, nearly five steals, and 4.5 rebounds per game.
Romeo started playing basketball and soccer at an early age. She became friends with future McDonald's All-American Mariya Moore in the
latter and along with her dad convinced her to try basketball. Romeo became serious about the sport in seventh grade and played under
coach Kelly Sopak on Cal Stars in eighth grade.
Her older sister, Camille, played at Carondelet, and her younger brother, Vince, currently plays for De La Salle. She credits
Moore, former Cougar Erica Payne, Sopak, and her brother with being formidable influences. Carondelet's outgoing coach Margaret
Gartner - she is retiring this year - “put a lot of time into the team,” says Romeo. She was a “calm and soothing” presence.
Romeo never missed a game in her entire high school career, and she’ll be taking that reliability and her consistency on the
court to the University of Nebraska this fall.
She’s been described as having a consistent motor, something she readily acknowledges.
“When I started in seventh grade, I just kept going and never really stopped,” says the 5-7 point guard.
Her favorite move?
“A half-spin hesitation thing,” she replied, struggling to define it.
It may be difficult to describe, but it's even more difficult to stop. Romeo's signature move lulls
defenders to sleep, at which point she typically makes an explosive move towards the hoop, often mixing in a fake and usually
ending with either a layup, a kick pass to a player positioned outside - say, Makenzie Cast behind the 3-point line, or Gabby Grupalo -
or a dump pass to a post player like Christina Chenault. She’s also adept at pulling up for long jumpers, behind or near the 3-point line.
In her first two seasons, Romeo says she was shy and would rather have someone else be the leader. But she emerged as a junior and
blossomed in the role.
“She was so shy and not confident as a freshman,” Gartner said. “She never said a word for two years.”
But when Payne and Hannah Huffman, among others, started graduating, “she could do more for us each year. She became a confident
young woman on and off the court, leading her team,” according to her coach.
And in the summer before this past season, she, Cast, and Grupalo played together on Cal Stars.
“It helped us bond and play a lot better together,” Romeo said.
But even in those first two years, Romeo was showing the talent and approach to the game that are the hallmarks of her game today.
Right out of the gate, says Gartner, Romeo was a “fierce competitor and phenomenal passer. She saw the floor and played 100 miles
per hour.”
Gartner adds that she hadn’t talked to the Nebraska coaches until after Natalie committed.
“I told them, ‘Whatever you think you’re getting, you’re going to get more. She does things the right way and makes everyone better.’”
Also considered: Mikayla Cowling, F, St. Mary's-Albany; Gabby Green, G, St. Mary's-Albany; Mariya Moore, G, Salesian; Makenzie Cast, G,
Carondelet.
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