Kelly Mazzante is gone. Au revoir.

What do you do on offense after losing the most prolific scorer in Big Ten basketball history?

Run, run, and then run some more.

These past four years, old No. 13 made a name for herself in the half-court set. Bring up the ball to the top of the key, set up the screen, dish it to Mazzante -- swish.

Now with the offense in the hands of seniors Jess Strom and Tanisha Wright, the Penn State women's basketball team is going to employ a fast-tempo, transition offense.

"The offense will change just because we're more athletic," coach Rene Portland said. "I think we can run the ball."

Strom and Wright, the only returning players to start every game during last season's Big Ten Championship year, will be shooting first and asking questions later.

" 'Create the shot' is a phrase you'll hear a whole lot," Portland said.

Last season sophomore guard Jen Harris saw sporadic playing time, like Amanda Brown, throughout the year but both were relegated to the bench and garbage time during most of the NCAA Tournament.

This season, Harris will be a possible starter in the backcourt alongside Wright and Strom as the new offensive system plays directly to her off-the-ball strengths.

"We have a lot more people that can create and can do things with the basketball compared to without the basketball like coming off screens and shooting," Wright said. "We all have that [ability], but our strengths lie in people who can do things with the basketball in their hands."

Harris is exactly that type of player.

At point guard, Strom will be primarily responsible for making sure the ball gets up the floor quickly and cleanly, and dishing it off. She thinks the team will be able to keep up with her.

"I definitely feel more comfortable doing that," Strom said. "We're just different this year. We've got some runners. All of our guards -- we're pretty fast, so we're going to push it a little bit more."

The transition game starts with pressure on the defensive side, sometimes full-court pressure.

The Lions are not an especially big team, Portland's teams typically aren't, but the coaches have figured out how to work it before.

Strom, when asked about defensive rebounding, laughed. She joked that rebounding is not usually an area of concern to the second shortest player on the team.

"If we have to play zone, we'll play zone," Strom said. "We'll find a way to box them out."

With all those shots in transition, rebounding in the post will be key.

Brown, was unavailable to the media after being diagnosed with mononucleosis earlier this month, spent her summer vacation with a basketball in her hands, and was mentioned profusely by Portland, Wright and Strom as a player who will now be a key offensively.

Brown is a post-player with the potential to be that rebounding beast so crucial to a transition offense.

Fellow post-player senior Ashli Schwab split starting and playing time with Brown last season, and depending on the length of Brown's illness, she will likely is seeing lots of action early.

"It's conditioning," Schwab said. "It's high-tempo running. Get the ball and go."