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Noga Peleg Pelc: 3-Point Salute
Aug 26 | Women's Basketball
If you drop by the RAC at any given time, chances are you'll find Noga Peleg Pelc out on the court doing what she does best, shooting 3-point shot after 3-point shot.
The rising sophomore was touted as a 3-point threat when she arrived "On The Banks" and in her first season as a Scarlet Knight, Peleg Pelc certainly didn't disappoint. She dropped in 39 made shots from beyond the arc and held RU's best shooting percent from downtown since the 2015-16 season. Peleg Pelc also knocked in five three's in the nonconference finale against Brown last season, marking the most buckets from 3-point range since Cynthia Hernandez's five made 3-point field goals against Wisconsin on Jan. 18, 2015 and 2019 WNBA All-Star MVP Erica Wheeler hit six in a game versus USF back on Feb. 26, 2013.
Peleg Pelc's 3-point prowess also went a long way in helping Rutgers gain the resume it needed to return to the NCAA Tournament. The 5-7 guard poured in eight-straight points, including back-to-back long range shots, in the fourth quarter against No. 4 Maryland on the road early in the Big Ten schedule, helping the Scarlet Knights to its first top ten win since 2009. Peleg Pelc also rained four 3-pointers in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal as the Scarlet Knights pulled within a possession after trailing by as many as 20 against eventual champion Iowa.
"It's funny because growing up I wasn't a shooter," said about her 3-point ability. "I was a driver. I was faster than everyone around me growing up and I would mainly drive. The need came up to develop a shot because people would lay back and I didn't like that. I thought 'ok, if that's what you are going to give me, that's what I'm going to take', but I knew I had to be good at it.
"There were a couple of years where I was terrible. I couldn't shoot – my shot was stuck between the new shot and the old shot. I was really frustrated but it started coming together the end of my junior year in high school. You could see glimpses of it being good and high level. My senior year of high school and first year out of high school was when I was thinking that it was go time."
Entering her second season at Rutgers, however, Peleg Pelc is eager to show more than just her 3-point ability.
"I also want to showcase different parts of my game other than just shooting," she said of her sophomore season goals." I want to show that I'm a lot more than just a shooter. I want to showcase my defense, driving, passing and understanding of the game. I want to take all that to another level."
But if it wasn't for supporting a friend, the RAC might not have seen the highlight reel that is Peleg Pelc's shooting ability.
Peleg Pelc was introduced to the sport at age six. Coming from a school that had one of the best basketball programs in the country, the school had welcomed a coach with national team experience that had decided on coaching the women's program in Peleg Pelc's hometown back in Israel.
"I remember there was an international game at our elementary school and I remember seeing the gym packed and everyone was really excited," she recalled. "Everyone was having so much fun and the game looked so exciting to me. I was only just thinking about playing back then."
"My first time playing basketball wasn't because I wanted to though," she laughed. "My best friend at the time told me she wanted to try an open, free basketball practice. It was a tryout and if you liked it, you stayed, and if you didn't, you didn't have to come back. I went to the tryout, I really liked it and I never left. Unfortunately, my friend never came back, but I kept playing."
Peleg Pelc kept playing and eventually played her way onto the roster of the Israel's national team in the seventh grade and became a world traveler. Every summer she spent time in two to three, if not more, different countries playing for her country.
Eventually, though, Peleg Pelc had additional duties to juggle when she joined the Israeli army in September of 2016. All Israeli citizens over the age of 18 are required to serve in the military with a two-year requirement for women. Peleg Pelc attended boot camp and later served as a clerk and had to figure out how to manage her time to keep playing the sport she loved.
"Boot camp is boot camp," she said of her time serving. "A lot of yelling, a lot discipline, a lot of formations, learning how to shoot a rifle and guarding the base. A lot a very different experiences that I'm glad I had. I don't think you really get to experience stuff like that if you don't have to get enlisted. It teaches you a lot about yourself, like teamwork, and how to deal with people you have never met before and now they have to be your sisters.
"My boot camp was right before the season, so I had to practice there. There was a not-so-great outside court that I would go to shoot at every night. We only had about six hours of sleep and while everyone else went to sleep, instead of sleeping, I would go and play a little bit of basketball. During my regular service, I would do my duties in the army for a few hours every day, eat lunch and go to another practice."
Peleg Pelc's discipline has reaped rewards in being able to handle a full academic load and the demands of being a Division I Big Ten student-athlete.
"I never wanted to be average in anything I did," Peleg Pelc explained. "If that meant, that I had to put in extra work, I would be excited. I could see the future that if I put in the extra hour or two every day that in three, four, five, ten years I'm going to see the benefits. Right now it might be harder, it might be frustrating, you might not be able to see the results, but I want to be able to look myself in the mirror at night before I go to sleep to know I did everything I could to be better today. It's already a habit. It's a standard. If I don't meet that standard, I hold myself accountable and I make sure I do it every day."
And that's why you'll continue to see Peleg Pelc, day-after-day, night-after-night continuing to shoot those three's in an effort to fight for a Big Ten Championship and push Rutgers women's basketball deeper into the postseason in 2019-20.
-RU-
The rising sophomore was touted as a 3-point threat when she arrived "On The Banks" and in her first season as a Scarlet Knight, Peleg Pelc certainly didn't disappoint. She dropped in 39 made shots from beyond the arc and held RU's best shooting percent from downtown since the 2015-16 season. Peleg Pelc also knocked in five three's in the nonconference finale against Brown last season, marking the most buckets from 3-point range since Cynthia Hernandez's five made 3-point field goals against Wisconsin on Jan. 18, 2015 and 2019 WNBA All-Star MVP Erica Wheeler hit six in a game versus USF back on Feb. 26, 2013.
Peleg Pelc's 3-point prowess also went a long way in helping Rutgers gain the resume it needed to return to the NCAA Tournament. The 5-7 guard poured in eight-straight points, including back-to-back long range shots, in the fourth quarter against No. 4 Maryland on the road early in the Big Ten schedule, helping the Scarlet Knights to its first top ten win since 2009. Peleg Pelc also rained four 3-pointers in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal as the Scarlet Knights pulled within a possession after trailing by as many as 20 against eventual champion Iowa.
"It's funny because growing up I wasn't a shooter," said about her 3-point ability. "I was a driver. I was faster than everyone around me growing up and I would mainly drive. The need came up to develop a shot because people would lay back and I didn't like that. I thought 'ok, if that's what you are going to give me, that's what I'm going to take', but I knew I had to be good at it.
"There were a couple of years where I was terrible. I couldn't shoot – my shot was stuck between the new shot and the old shot. I was really frustrated but it started coming together the end of my junior year in high school. You could see glimpses of it being good and high level. My senior year of high school and first year out of high school was when I was thinking that it was go time."
Entering her second season at Rutgers, however, Peleg Pelc is eager to show more than just her 3-point ability.
"I also want to showcase different parts of my game other than just shooting," she said of her sophomore season goals." I want to show that I'm a lot more than just a shooter. I want to showcase my defense, driving, passing and understanding of the game. I want to take all that to another level."
But if it wasn't for supporting a friend, the RAC might not have seen the highlight reel that is Peleg Pelc's shooting ability.
Peleg Pelc was introduced to the sport at age six. Coming from a school that had one of the best basketball programs in the country, the school had welcomed a coach with national team experience that had decided on coaching the women's program in Peleg Pelc's hometown back in Israel.
"I remember there was an international game at our elementary school and I remember seeing the gym packed and everyone was really excited," she recalled. "Everyone was having so much fun and the game looked so exciting to me. I was only just thinking about playing back then."
"My first time playing basketball wasn't because I wanted to though," she laughed. "My best friend at the time told me she wanted to try an open, free basketball practice. It was a tryout and if you liked it, you stayed, and if you didn't, you didn't have to come back. I went to the tryout, I really liked it and I never left. Unfortunately, my friend never came back, but I kept playing."
Peleg Pelc kept playing and eventually played her way onto the roster of the Israel's national team in the seventh grade and became a world traveler. Every summer she spent time in two to three, if not more, different countries playing for her country.
Eventually, though, Peleg Pelc had additional duties to juggle when she joined the Israeli army in September of 2016. All Israeli citizens over the age of 18 are required to serve in the military with a two-year requirement for women. Peleg Pelc attended boot camp and later served as a clerk and had to figure out how to manage her time to keep playing the sport she loved.
"Boot camp is boot camp," she said of her time serving. "A lot of yelling, a lot discipline, a lot of formations, learning how to shoot a rifle and guarding the base. A lot a very different experiences that I'm glad I had. I don't think you really get to experience stuff like that if you don't have to get enlisted. It teaches you a lot about yourself, like teamwork, and how to deal with people you have never met before and now they have to be your sisters.
"My boot camp was right before the season, so I had to practice there. There was a not-so-great outside court that I would go to shoot at every night. We only had about six hours of sleep and while everyone else went to sleep, instead of sleeping, I would go and play a little bit of basketball. During my regular service, I would do my duties in the army for a few hours every day, eat lunch and go to another practice."
Peleg Pelc's discipline has reaped rewards in being able to handle a full academic load and the demands of being a Division I Big Ten student-athlete.
"I never wanted to be average in anything I did," Peleg Pelc explained. "If that meant, that I had to put in extra work, I would be excited. I could see the future that if I put in the extra hour or two every day that in three, four, five, ten years I'm going to see the benefits. Right now it might be harder, it might be frustrating, you might not be able to see the results, but I want to be able to look myself in the mirror at night before I go to sleep to know I did everything I could to be better today. It's already a habit. It's a standard. If I don't meet that standard, I hold myself accountable and I make sure I do it every day."
And that's why you'll continue to see Peleg Pelc, day-after-day, night-after-night continuing to shoot those three's in an effort to fight for a Big Ten Championship and push Rutgers women's basketball deeper into the postseason in 2019-20.
-RU-
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