Kelly Mazzante

Kelly Mazzante
Guard
Born February 2, 1982 (1982-02-02) (age 30)
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Nationality American
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 155 lb (70 kg)
High school Montoursville High School
College Penn State
Draft 18th overall, 2004
Charlotte Sting
Profile WNBA Info Page
WNBA Teams
Charlotte Sting (2004–2006)
Phoenix Mercury (2007–2009)
Atlanta Dream (2011)

Kelly Anne Mazzante (born February 2, 1982) is an American professional women's basketball player in the WNBA. She is the all-time leading scorer in Big Ten basketball history (male or female).[1]

Contents

Early life and college career

Mazzante attended Montoursville High School in Montoursville, PA, which is also the alma mater of Mike Mussina, a pitcher for the New York Yankees. She scored over 3,000 points in high school and finished as the third leading scorer in Pennsylvania girls' basketball history.

At an early age, Mazzante attended Penn State's Lady Lion Basketball Camp. She went on to attend college at Penn State, where she was a star member of the women's basketball team, mainly playing in the shooting guard position. Mazzante scored an outstanding 49 points and sank 9 three point shots against Minnesota during her Sophomore season. During her senior season, Kelly led her team to the Elite Eight, where they fell to the eventual champions, Connecticut. She earned Kodak All-American honors three times (2004, 2003 and 2002). She is the all time leading scorer in the Big Ten Conference with 2,919 points in four seasons from 2001-2004. Through 133 NCAA appearances, she averaged 21.9 points per game. She also holds Big Ten records for Field Goals (1,051), Field Goals Attempted (2,403), 3 Point Field Goals (357), and 3 Point Field Goals Attempted (1,019). She was a recipient of the NCAA Top Eight Award as part of the Class of 2005. Mazzante's Penn State No. 13 jersey was retired on December 29, 2004. She completed her undergraduate degree in advertising/public relations in the offseason while assisting the women's basketball team.

Mazzante was also a member of the 2002 USA World Championship for Young Women Qualifying Team that won the gold medal.

Professional career

Mazzante was selected in the second round of the 2004 WNBA Draft by the Charlotte Sting, where she spent three seasons as a reserve guard. She scored a WNBA-career-high 18 points in an August 18, 2006 game against the Phoenix Mercury. After the Charlotte Sting folded in January 2007, Mazzante was selected in the 2007 WNBA Dispersal Draft by the Mercury. She contributed to the Mercury's victory in the 2007 and 2009 WNBA Finals, primarily as a three-point shooting specialist. During her Phoenix Mercury days, Mazzante wrote a blog for PhoenixMercury.com called "Maz's Musings."

In March 2010, Mazzante was traded to the New York Liberty as part of a three-team, multiplayer deal.[2] However, she was released from the team a few weeks later since she was in the middle of rehab for her ACL.

In the 2006-7 WNBA offseason, Mazzante played in Slovakia for the Košice professional basketball team. In the 2007-8 WNBA offseason, she played in Russia for Spartak. During the winters of 2008-09 and 2009–10, she played in Hungary for MiZo Pécs (PVSK). In 2011, She signed with the San Antonio Silver Stars and later the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA.

Personal

Mazzante has hosted her own basketball camp for girls and boys in Phillipsburg during the fall since 2007.

References

  1. ^ PSU Playbook Archive
  2. ^ Blockbuster Trade Changes the WNBA Landscape

External links