Kelly Mraz '07

Oswego State's women's basketball victory at Utica Dec. 7 improved the Lakers' overall record to 6-2. It was also a quality win on the road against a Pioneers team that had just one loss up to that point.

But for head coach Michelle Collins and guard Kelly Mraz ’07, the game will be remembered for different reasons. The 66-51 win at Utica was the 100th career coaching win for Michelle Collins, all of which were attained at Oswego State. Also, with a game-high 21 points in the contest, Mraz became the sixth player in the program's history to record 1,000 points in her career.

Collins has turned the Laker women's basketball program into an annual contender for SUNYAC Championships and NCAA Tournament bids. She inherited an Oswego State women's basketball team that rarely achieved a winning record. Things have changed at Max Ziel Gymnasium. After the Lakers won just five games in Collins' first year as head coach, the team increased its win total for the next four seasons. Collins has a career record of 100 wins and 66 losses.

Expectations are higher than they've ever been, largely due to an exceptional senior class. The current group of seniors has won nearly 80 percent of its games, captured a SUNYAC regular season and playoff championship, and has been to the NCAA Tournament two years in a row. The Lakers have won eight straight games, and are 9-2 on the season.

Mraz has been a big reason for the success of the program. She has been the team's starting point guard since arriving on the Oswego State campus in the fall of 2003. She made an immediate impact on the SUNYAC as a freshman, earning SUNYAC First Year Player of the Year honors. Mraz has been an All-SUNYAC First Team selection twice and a Second Team selection once.

Her consistent scoring and leadership of the team – along with classmates Lacey Kimpland ’07, Lyndsey Marquit ’07, and Jessica Tremblay ’07 – has helped Oswego State enjoy its most successful string in women's college basketball.

— Joe Gladziszewski