Standing at 6’0’’ it is no surprise that Marissa Pezzopane, known as Pezzy to her teammates, is currently the leading scorer of the Augustana basketball team. Pezzopane has scored 96 points so far this season, with an average of 19.2 points per game.
Her teammates attribute her success to her high levels of motivation.
“She’s determined,” said Meagan Murphy, a senior on the team. “When she’s out on the court she’s out there to get work done, and she does.
Pezzopane, on the contrary, attributes her success to her teammates.
“Our offense runs through getting the ball inside (the paint),” said Pezzopane, “and my teammates have put in a lot of work on that especially with feeding me in the paint. They have done a great job at putting me in situations to score doing the game and so when they do, I repay them by scoring.”
Pezzopane had a setback on Nov. 29when she tripped and hit her head, resulting in a concussion and a week of being unable to play.
“It was annoying,” said Pezzopane “because I wanted to get back on the court because I knew there were things that I needed to work on, but thankfully with our schedule, we had two weeks off from games.”
Pezzopane kept her determination and passed the concussion test to get back on the court.
Pezzopane is junior studying elementary education, which makes perfect sense to her teammates.
“She has a big heart,” said Murphy. “She has contagious joy, and perfect sincerity to care about students.”
Pezzopane has the same attitude on the court, even when she is not in the game she can be found on her feet clapping and cheering for her teammates.
“When you’re talented like Pez,” said Murphy,  “it’s easy to do your own thing and forget about everything else, but this year especially I have seen Pezzy’s focus be very much centered on making the team better. She wants Augie women’s basketball to succeed, and she’s going to be the player we need her to be for us to reach that success. Because that’s who we are, we are a team, we are one, and she knows that.”
The team has yet to play a conference game but has played five non-conference games and has a 2-3 record.
The team started off the season with two losses, but they have picked it up since their last game against Webster University, which resulted in a  win.
“We are a rebuilding team,” said Pezzopane.  “We have not always been taken seriously and have had a losing mentality.  This year, we are starting to change that mentality. Wins are coming along as we continue to make strides in getting better. This team is something special, and I’m so blessed to be a part of it.”