Four Penn College Basketball Players Earn All-PSUAC Honors

Four Pennsylvania College of Technology basketball players have been honored by the Penn State University Athletic Conference for their achievements this season and Ron Kodish, coach of the league-champion women's team, was named "coach of the year."

Women's players cited include Katlyn Stupar, a 5-foot-10 sophomore forward from State College who was named to the first team; Brittany Blessard, a 5-4 sophomore guard from Renovo named to the second team; and Amy Fassett, a 5-3 junior guard from Athens who earned honorable mention.

Also earning honorable-mention honors was men's player Tony Flint, a 6-foot senior guard from Port Allegany.

Kodish calls Stupar, "The most complete player I have ever coached, male or female, in almost 30 years of coaching."

She will graduate in May as the all-time leading scorer in Penn College women's basketball history with 998 points, even though she missed 12 games over her two-year career because of academic requirements. Stupar averaged nearly 25 points a game over her career, while leading the team in rebounding and blocked shots.

"As a defender, she has great anticipation to close off the driving lanes or cut off a passing lane, often times forcing a bad pass or making the steal," Kodish said. "She is nicknamed "And 1" by her teammates for her ability to get the baseline, force the contact and draw the foul while scoring. Players like Katlyn Stupar don't come by very often, and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to coach her."

Blessard transferred to Penn College from Lycoming College in January 2005, and made an immediate impact.

"She is a well-rounded player who has added speed to our offense and defense, and, at times, has taken over games. She scored 367 points this season, averaging 13.6 points a game," Kodish said. "Brittany has worked very hard to become a solid college player, and has gained confidence in her ability to score off her jump shot and off the break.

"As a returning player next season, Brittany will be a player that our opponents will have to prepare to stop. Our young players next season will have a strong leader and good role model, on and off the court," Kodish added.

"Fassett is a coach's dream and a ref's delight,"he said. "A transfer from Broome Community College, she is the consummate team player, one that younger players should want to emulate.

"A terrific defensive player, she led the team in steals, and often times shut down the opponent's best perimeter player. Amy didn't hit her offensive stride until halfway through the season, scoring 286 points, for a 10.6 point-per-game average. She is a consistent outside scorer in the half court, and breakaway scoring threat off the break," Kodish said.

"A very well-conditioned player, she played more minutes than any player on the team. Amy's work ethic and attitude make her a valuable asset to the team, and I am predicting her star will shine next season," the coach continued.

Speaking about his own reward after his team went 19-8 and claimed the league crown, Kodish said, "The 'coach of the year' award was very gratifying because it came from a vote among the coaches in the PSUAC. I am very honored with the award because I was recognized by my coaching peers for the work my assistant, Joe Weisser, and I have done building the Lady Wildcats program."

Flint closed out his career with the Wildcat men with 1,072 points, including 209 3-point goals, according to coach Gene Bruno, "And he is the first player to come through Penn College as a four-year player.

"As far as leadership over the last four years, I couldn't have had a better kid," Bruno said. "He was always at practice and he took care of the younger players coming in. It was a real pleasure having him for four years. When he wasn't in the lineup, we were in trouble. And, he brought a lot of fun to the team."