Athletics Feature
BEING BOLD. THINKING HIGHER.
By Doug Goodnough
How Siena Heights’ All-Time Leading Scorer
May Take Her Game to the Next Level
Laura Panozzo ’07 amazed a lot of people during her career with the Siena Heights University
women’s basketball program—including herself.
Siena’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder
wasn’t even sure basketball was her sport of choice
while prepping at Berkley (Mich.) High School.
“I aspired to be a college and pro soccer player,”
Panozzo said of her early high school aspirations.
“However, my freshman year of high school I realized I sort of outgrew my love for soccer, and it
didn’t mean the same to me anymore … I realized
I ended up enjoying basketball much more.”
And Siena Heights reaped the rewards of that decision. The 5-foot-10 forward finished her college
career scoring 1,812 points and snaring 1,099
rebounds – both career school records. In fact,
she is the only Saint—male or female—to score
more than 1,700 points and grab 1,000 rebounds
for a career. The two-time first team All-Wolverine
Hoosier Athletic Conference and NAIA honorable
mention All-American selection guided the Saints
to a 17-win season as a senior, only the second
Siena women’s team to achieve that mark.
Panozzo said while she was a good high school
player, she never realized she could be that good.
“My career in high school was good,”Panozzo
said. “I never considered myself a great player,
but I knew I had potential.”
That potential was realized early on at Siena.
During her freshman season, she was content to
contribute as a reserve, but then one of the starters quit the team, and Panozzo was thrust into
the starting lineup.
“I will admit to being nervous, and frankly,
scared, at the beginning,”Panozzo said. “That
year was one of my biggest growing years, because I had to do it so fast.”
She finished that season averaging 10.5 points a
game to earn a spot on the WHAC’s Newcomer
Team, as well as making third team all-conference. And it only got better from there. Panozzo
averaged 15.7 points per contest as a sophomore
on the way to second team all-conference honors,
then scored 18.5 and 16.3 points per game, respectively, during her junior and senior seasons.
As a senior, she was named the conference Player
of the Week four times, and was also chosen to
the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association allregional team.
While she is satisfied with her scoring accomplishments, she is most proud of her rebounding
records. As a junior, she grabbed 11.93 caroms a
game, including a single-game record of 27. As a
senior, she averaged 10.2 boards per contest.
“I never really tracked rebounds, and they were
never expressed as being the most important aspect
of the game,”Panozzo said. “Now, though, I feel
like it is one of the most underrated skills in the
game because it doesn’t take much skill. It just
takes passion and the feeling of urgency that the
ball is yours and you have to get it. … The best
part is people realizing that a forward who is not
tall holds the record. When they realize that I hold
the (rebounding) record, they are amazed.”
Panozzo combined a desire to improve with an
uncanny on-court awareness. She also possessed
good footwork and coordination, crediting her
soccer background and dance lessons. She also
said her ability to “turn off her brain”during
games and just let her talent and hard work take
over was another key to her success.
“So much of players’problems come from when
they think too much about situations and they
end up missing an opportunity because they get
so confused with so much,”Panozzo said. “I let
my body take over and all the practice and all
the repetition of moves and plays come down to
muscle memory and relying on my body.”
Of course, goal-setting is another trait of an outstanding athlete.
“I set small goals for myself every year, and once
I conquered that, I would set another,”Panozzo
said. “I avoided setting really big ones, because
sometimes when you reach for something so huge,
you lose steam on your way, and you end up giving
up. So I set small goals, not knowing where they
could eventually lead me, and it turned out to be
bigger than I had imagined.”
With her college career completed, Panozzo is
now setting new goals. This summer, she is finishing up her degree in business management. She
would like to remain in sports, possibly writing
or even coaching. And there is still the option of
a professional basketball career.
“I am not ruling out the option of playing overseas,”Panozzo said of the possibility of a professional career. “I do have a contact for an agent,
so when I feel ready for the challenge, I have someone I can talk to about starting the process. For
now, I am working on my internship and getting
that college degree, because that is most important
to me.”
“The Siena experience was more than I could
ask for,”she said. “I came here knowing no one,
and (ended up) meeting everyone. Because we are
small, it gave me the chance to meet people I might
never have somewhere else. … I don’t have it all
figured out now, but Siena has helped me come
into my own and given me the confidence I need
to pursue what I want.” u
Reflections Summer ’07
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