STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Kelly Mazzante scored 36 points to lead No. 14 Penn State to an 82-66 victory over No. 20 Mississippi State in the semifinals of the preseason WNIT on Wednesday night.
The Lady Lions (3-0) will play at No. 4 Kansas State in Sunday’s championship game. Kansas State beat Southern California 73-61 Wednesday night.
Mazzante, the nation’s leading scorer last season, won the scoring duel with LaToya Thomas, last year’s second-leading scorer, who fought double- and triple-teams all night and scored 19 points for the Lady Bulldogs (2-1).
It was Mazzante’s second consecutive 30-point game and the 16th time in 67 college games she has scored 30 or more.
Mazzante hit a layup and 3-pointer to start a 15-3 run that gave the Lady Lions a 59-43 lead with 13:26 left.
When Thomas hit a turnaround jumper to bring Mississippi State within 68-60, Mazzante answered with a streaking, off-balance layup. Mazzante then stole the ball in the backcourt, drew a foul and converted the three-point play for a 73-60 lead with 3:49 left.
Tanisha Wright finished with 17 points for Penn State, and Ashli Schwab had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Tan White led Mississippi State with 20 points, and Chekwa added 10.
Mazzante scored 19 points in the first half, driving the lane, getting two 3-pointers and going 5-of-6 from the free throw line. There were nine lead changes in the first half before a 3-pointer by Mazzante from the corner put the Lady Lions up 35-33 with 1:50 left. Penn State led 39-35 at halftime.
