Everything was in place.

Two men of the event staff stood in the upper deck, ready to count down from the large "9" on the Mazzante Meter. Louis and Julia Mazzante, Kelly's parents, sat in the stands, camera in hand. A giant congratulatory card waited in Portal 31 for fan signatures. And Kelly Mazzante stood at center court, poised to begin the game that all 13,305 fans in attendance knew would be Big Ten history in the making.

Yes, everything was in place yesterday afternoon when it came to Mazzante, as the senior guard needed just nine points to break the Big Ten women's career scoring record of 2,578, previously held by Ohio State standout Katie Smith. And after 12 minutes and 55 seconds of tension in the first half, Mazzante stepped to the free throw line and sunk consecutive attempts, thereby netting the 2,579th point of her career.

By the end of the Lady Lions' 79-64 defeat of Illinois, Mazzante had scored 24 points, putting her at 2,594, just 20 points from breaking the Big Ten all-time career scoring record, held by former Indiana forward Calbert Cheaney.

"It's like, 'Wow, this is the Big Ten, this is one of the most competitive leagues in the country, and a little kid from Montoursville, the little town of Montoursville, is going to be the all-time leading scorer,' " Louis Mazzante, said. "All I can say is, 'Wow.' "

A few other people thought something along the lines of "Wow" as well, as the Bryce Jordan Center erupted in cheers and the Cager Club of young Lions fans proudly held up signs that spelled out "We Love Kelly 2,579."

As for Mazzante herself, well, she did not have much choice in the matter of celebration. As soon as the second shot fell and Penn State called a time out, her teammates descended upon her from all directions. Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland, still nursing a fractured lower leg, quickly scooted over, congratulated her star and sent her into the stands where Louis and Julia were waiting for their daughter with open arms.

"I wasn't planning on [going into the stands], but Rene gave me a little nudge," Mazzante said. "My mom was bawling her eyes out, and I almost started to cry, and it's in the middle of a game."

But for the woman who has never made it about herself, she simply stepped back onto the court where there was still a basketball game to take care of.

"She doesn't pay attention to [breaking records], she just plays," Louis Mazzante said. "The other day, I said something about breaking the record and she said, 'How many points do I need?' I had to tell her. I'm sure today she knows, but two weeks ago, she didn't know."

Yesterday she certainly knew, and she also certainly knew about the next record on her slate. And while she will always play down her achievements and play up the goals of the team, it is hard to deny the excitement -- and Mazzante should not have to.

"Kelly has a standard line, normally she doesn't talk about herself," Portland said. "But today, I think she should talk about herself."

After the game, there was not any indication that Mazzante was going to talk about herself any more than she did when she last broke a record, the Penn State women's basketball career-scoring record on Nov. 21. But with thousands of fans emptying out of the Jordan Center buzzing about the darling of Happy Valley, and with the marquee sign reading "Congratulations Kelly" for all cars passing by to read, it was clear she would not have to do much talking of her own.