She has only gotten better as the season has worn along. At an even 17 points per game in conference play, Gissendanner is in the top five in scoring. Heading into this 2005-06 season, she had not seen heavy doses of playing time since her days at Clairton High School.

"Sometimes we lose her; she fades out a little bit," Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said. "Conditioning is a big part of it, and I know she works on that."

Stepping from the trainer's room onto the court to assume such a large role can be overbearing, but Portland knew Gissendanner would have to carry the burden.

"Her game is really growing. We're very pleased with her," Portland said. "She's stepped into a pretty unbelievable situation where she had to be the go-to player early."

It isn't just a health issue for the former member of the Wolfpack. The limited playing time she did see at N.C. State was spent at one of the foreign forward positions.

"She really sat out two years if you look at her statistics," Portland said. "So she really had two years of rust to knock off, and I think that piece by piece, she's made herself healthy -- knock on wood."

Although she's made huge strides at the offensive end to become a scorer, Portland admits she needs to see better defense from Gissendanner, an area where her progress has come in baby steps.

"On the defensive end, it's always the issue for a lot of kids, and I know she's aware of it," Portland said. "The best part of coaching Kam is that she says, 'Keep talking to me.' She wants to get better. She wants to have an impact. She certainly doesn't want to hurt the team in any way. She's a tremendous leader."

Although collective success may not come this year, Gissendanner hopes to go somewhere with a more experienced supporting cast at some point down the line.