A-Maz-ing Play Brings Home Ivy Title

There are a lot of factors that contribute to an Ivy League championship team. There is raw athletic ability. Teamwork. Leadership.

All three of these qualities were present last season on the women's basketball team, which compiled a 17-9 record and dominated the Ivy League, losing only twice in 14 contests, to grab the title.

And if there was one player that embodies the qualities needed for a championship squad, that player was Jen Mazanec.

Without the pizazz and flash that some players bring to the game, Mazanec quietly posted impressive numbers. The Kirkland House resident was second on the team in scoring (13.2 ppg.) and rebounding (7.7 rpg.) behind sophomore Debbie Flandermeyer.

Mazanec entered the Harvard basketball program at a time when the Crimson was loaded with talent. Harvard won the Ivy title her freshman year, while Mazanec, like many rookies, "rode the pines." Maz broke into the starting lineup as a sophomore, but her career really took off her junior season.

Mazanec made important contributions during the 1989-90 capaign, averaging almost nine points and five rebounds per game. She had still not established herself, however, as the dominant inside player she would eventually become.

After playing forward in high school, Mazanec was moved to the three--or swing--position as part of Coach Kathy Delaney smith's offensive scheme. Over the past two seasons, Mazanec has had to readjust to play in the paint.

"I didn't realize how different the inside game is here than in high school," Mazanec says. "The players are a lot bigger and a lot stronger. But working with Debbie [Flandermeyer] helped."

Any critics of Mazanec's game were abruptly silenced early last season. In Harvard's second game of the year, Mazanec poured in 23 points and pulled down 16 boards in a losing effort against a tough Providence squad. She would go on to lead the team in scoring eight times and rebounding nine times.

In Harvard's dramatic come-from-behind overtime victory over Brown in Providence, R.I., Mazanec led all Harvard scorers with 22 points, and she closed out her basketball career in fine fashion, dumping in 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in a 74-64 victory over Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H.

"[My career] couldn't have ended in a better way," Mazanec says. "It's been a great one, not just the basketball, but the time I spent with the people, my teammates."

Although Mazanec was never bestowed the honor of team captain, it is clear that her teammates look up to her.

"She was a super person to play basketball with," Co-Captain Beth Wambach says. "I can't imagine moving on without her."

"You have to look up to her for her dedication," Wambach adds. "She played every game like it was her last."

Despite her impressive final season, Mazanec's basketball career appears over. The senior standout says that unless she gets a substantial offer from a European team, her days of board-crashing, at least on an organized level, are pretty much finished.

"At some point, you have to close the books and hang up the high tops," Mazanec says. "This seems like as a good a time as any."

While her future may involve action in court, it will probably not be of the basketball variety. Mazanec plans to spend the summer at her home in Burnsville, Minn. before moving to Washington D.C. in the fall to try out the legal market.