University Park, Pa. -- Penn State women's basketball standout Kelly Mazzante (Montoursville, Pa.) has been named to her third-straight Kodak/WBCA All-America team. Only 16 players in history have ever been named to the team at least three times in their career previous to this season.
In addition, Mazzante has earned a spot on the inaugural John R. Wooden Women's All-American team, and remains in contention for the Wooden Award as the nation's top female collegiate basketball player. That award will be presented in Los Angeles on April 9.
Three-time Kodak/WBCA All-AmericanWooden All-American
On the Wooden All-America squad, Mazzante is joined by Duke's Beard, Connecticut's Taurasi, Stanford's Powell and fellow Big Ten student-athlete, Purdue's Shereka Wright.
The top candidates will be invited to Los Angeles where the Wooden Award, recognizing the nation's top women's basketball player, will be announced on Friday, April 9. The finalists will also attend the 28th Annual Wooden Award Ceremony, which will air nationally on Saturday, April 10 during a CBS telecast of the "John R. Wooden Award Show Presented by Allstate" live from The Los Angeles Athletic Club at 1 pm EST.
The top five finalists will receive a contribution from the John R. Wooden Award Scholarship Fund in their name to their university's general scholarship fund. The Wooden Award Scholarship Fund was established in 2002 by Applied Materials and corporate partners through the California Community Foundation (CCF) to honor Coach Wooden's dedication as an educator and mentor. Applied Materials distributed $15,000 last year to each university represented by a Wooden Award All-American Team finalist for a total of $75,000.
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award is one of the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball. It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven to his university that he is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.00 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Michael Jordan ('84), Larry Bird ('79), Tim Duncan ('97) and last year's recipient, T.J. Ford ('03). Tabulation for all voting is calculated by Deloitte & Touche.
An unparalled career as a Lady Lion
This season Mazzante, who was named the Big Ten Player of the Year for the second straight season, averaged 20.0 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game, in the process re-writing the Big Ten and Penn State record books. In the Lady Lions' first game this season, Mazzante became the all-time leading scorer in Penn State history (male or female). Later in the year she broke the same record in the Big Ten Conference, surpassing Calbert Cheaney's record of 2,613 points (132 games) in just her 116th career game. Mazzante finished her career with 2,919 points, which ranks No. 9 all-time in NCAA history.
Mazzante connected on 92 3-point field goals this year, running away with the Big Ten lead in that category. Her total of 85 3-pointers made through the Big Ten Tournament (when the Big Ten ceased cumulating statistics) was 15 more than the next closest player total. She finished her career with 357 3-point field goals made, the third-highest total in NCAA history.
Mazzante's efforts helped lead Penn State to a No. 1 seed in the 2004 NCAA championship, and an Elite Eight finish. Penn State ended the season with a 28-6 record, which included five wins over top-10 ranked teams, and 10 wins over ranked opponents overall. But Mazzante's accomplishments aren't limited to the basketball court. The senior was named the CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year -- the nation's highest honor -- and carries a 3.49 grade point average while majoring in advertising/public relations.
2004 WBCA Kodak All-American Team
* Seimone Augustus, LSU (sophomore, G/F, 6-1)
*** Alana Beard, Duke (senior, G, 5-11)
* Shyra Ely, Tennessee (junior, F, 6-2)
* Chandi Jones, Houston (senior, G/F, 5-10)
*** KELLY MAZZANTE, PENN STATE (senior, G, 6-0)
* Janel McCarville, Minnesota (junior, F/C, 6-2)
** Nicole Ohlde, Kansas State (senior, F/C, 6-5)
*** Nicole Powell, Stanford (senior, F, 6-2)
*** Diana Taurasi, Connecticut (senior, G/F, 6-0)
** Lindsay Whalen, Minnesota (senior, G, 5-9)
Asterisks denote number of years, including 2004, that the player has been named to the Kodak/WBCA All-America Team.
All-time three-time Kodak/WBCA All-Americans
Alana Beard, Duke (3 times, 2002-2004)
KELLY MAZZANTE, PENN STATE (3 times, 2002-2004)
Nicole Powell, Stanford (3 times, 2002-2004)
Diana Taurasi, Connecticut (3 times, 2002-2004)
LaToya Thomas, Miss. State (4 times, 2000-03)
Svetlana Abrosimova, Connecticut (3 times, 1999-2001)
Tamika Catchings, Tennessee (4 times, 1998-2001)
Kelly Miller, Georgia (3 times, 1999-2001)
Chamique Holdsclaw, Tennessee (4 times, 1996-99)
Dawn Staley, Virginia (3 times, 1990-92)
Vickie Orr, Auburn (3 times, 1987-89)
Sue Wicks, Rutgers (3 times, 1986-88)
Cheryl Miller, USC (4 times, 1983-86)
Pam Kelly, La Tech (3 times, 1980-82)
Lynette Woodard, Kansas (4 times, 1978-81)
Nancy Lieberman, Old Dominion (3 times, 1978-80)
Carol Blazejowski, Montclair State (3 times, 1976--78)
Ann Meyers, UCLA (4 times, 1975-78)
Nancy Dunkle, Cal State-Fullerton (3 times, 1975-77)
Lusia Harris, Delta State (3 times, 1975-77)
2003-2004 Women's Wooden Award All-American team
Alana Beard, Duke (senior, G, 5-11)
KELLY MAZZANTE, PENN STATE (senior, G, 6-0)
Nicole Powell, Stanford (senior, F, 6-2)
Diana Taurasi, Connecticut (senior, G/F, 6-0)
Shereka Wright, Purdue (senior, F, 5-10)