Like a Wisconsin snowstorm bursting out of a clear winter sky, Penn State guard Kelly Mazzante exploded on women’s college basketball as a freshman last season.
In a dazzling display of basketball, she rewrote the Penn State record for total points by a freshman with 529 points. She also led the team in scoring with 18.2 points per game, a figure that was good enough to make her the first freshman ever to lead the Big Ten in scoring.
When all was said and done after last year, the hardware just came rolling in for Mazzante. Among the honors the Nittany Lion received was Big Ten Freshman of the Year, honorable mention on all-Big Ten first team and selection to the all-freshman team.
But perhaps the best part about Mazzante, at least for Penn State fans, is that she is a homegrown talent, from Montoursville High School in Montoursville, Pa.
“Kelly is a tremendous offensive threat from all areas of the court,” says Penn State head coach Rene Portland. “Her creative thought process will make her impossible to stop and a real crowd-pleaser.”
Any thoughts of a sophomore slump have been quickly waved off by Mazzante’s incredible play this season, which has been even better than last.
She leads the team with an enormous 25.6 points per game, which is 16.9 points per game higher than PSU’s second-leading scorer, Rashana Barnes.
Mazzante is also a defensive threat, pacing the team in steals with 2.1 per game. Perhaps her only shortcoming is in the assists department, where she averages just 1.7 per game.
But when expected to score as much as Mazzante does, a player really won’t be dominant in the assists category. Besides, the team can rely on freshman guard Jess Strom to distribute the ball 6.9 times a game.
As the Nittany Lions head into their game with Wisconsin this Sunday at Penn State, they sport a somewhat mediocre 12-8 record, including 4-3 in the Big Ten, despite Mazzante’s amazing antics.
It is obvious that Mazzzante is the key to Penn State’s fortunes. In the three Big Ten losses that the Nittany Lions have suffered, she has been held to 22.7 points per game, including just a nine-point output in a 66-62 loss to Michigan State.
In PSU’s three Big Ten wins, Mazzante has lit up the opposition for 35.7 points per game, including a school-record 49 points in an 88-83 win over Minnesota. She also reached an impressive milestone in a 78-65 win over Michigan, becoming the fastest Penn State and Big Ten player to reach 1,000 career points.
While the Badgers will have Mazzante on their minds for Sunday’s contest, they will also have to deal with last week’s 92-85 loss to Minnesota. While the loss was only the first for the Badgers in Big Ten play, the psychological effects were painful.
The loss came in front of a sold-out home crowd, something that the Badger seniors have never played in front of before.
“It was obviously the worse loss I could imagine having,” said senior forward Jessie Stomski. “Just the circumstances, against Minnesota, on our home court, 17,000 people here. But, you got to look at it as a loss. You know, a season is 30 games, not one. And we’re still on top of the Big Ten.”
This type of attitude is essential for Wisconsin to continue to rebound by knocking off Penn State. And, according to head coach Jane Albright, Badgerball has certainly moved forward with a great week of practice.
“They got that look in their eye again, like they’re just ready to play,” she said. “Like we’re not the target anymore. The target’s on Indiana, the target’s on Penn State. That’s how we played the first two months of the season. We never had a target on us. We were going after everybody, and that’s what we look like we’re like again. Just from one practice.”
While senior guard Kyle Black will probably be largely responsible for the unenviable task of guarding Mazzante against Penn State, it will take a team effort to contain such an explosive player.
One thing is certain: the Badgers will have the advantage over Penn State in experience, something they could exploit a great deal in order to win the game.
