Kelly Mazzante

Kelly Mazzante
Personal information
Born (1982-02-02) February 2, 1982
Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight 155 lb (70 kg)
Career information
High school Montoursville
(Montoursville, Pennsylvania)
College Penn State (2000–2004)
WNBA draft 2004 / Round: 2 / Pick: 18th overall
Selected by the Charlotte Sting
Playing career 2004–2011
Position Guard
Number 13
Career history
2004–2006 Charlotte Sting
2007–2009 Phoenix Mercury
2011 Atlanta Dream
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com

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

Early life and college career

Mazzante attended Montoursville High School in Montoursville, Pennsylvania, 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 (2002, 2003, and 2004). 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 off-season 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.

Penn State statistics

Source[2]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2000-01 Penn State 29 529 46.8 36.9 76.3 4.2 1.6 2.5 0.5 18.2
2001-02 Penn State 35 872 43.7 36.7 81.4 3.9 1.7 1.9 0.4 24.9
2002-03 Penn State 35 837 43.3 34.5 84.2 4.6 2.2 2.5 0.5 23.9
2003-04 Penn State 34 681 40.1 32.7 82.4 4.1 1.6 1.8 0.7 20.0
Career Penn State 133 2919 43.3 35.0 81.9 4.2 1.8 2.2 0.5 21.9

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, multi-player deal.[3] However, she was released from the team a few weeks later, since she was in the middle of rehab for her ACL.

In the 2006-2007 WNBA offseason, Mazzante played in Slovakia for the Košice professional basketball team. In the 2007-2008 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. On January 21, 2014, Mazzante announced her retirement.[4]

Personal

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

References

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