Photo by: Robert Hayes
Women's Basketball Adds Skilled Transfer Forward Mary Dunn
4/14/2021 12:57:00 PM | Women's Basketball
PITTSBURGH – University of Pittsburgh women's basketball head coach Lance White announced Wednesday the signing of transfer Mary Dunn to the Panthers' 2021 class. Dunn will have one year of eligibility remaining after competing for five seasons at Youngstown State.
"The addition of Mary Dunn to our team is going to be impactful on a number of levels," explained head coach Lance White. "She is going to bring veteran experience to our young roster both on the court and as a leader off the court. Mary averaged 16 points per game last season, is a 1,000-point scorer, and has played well over 100 games in her career, and this type of experience is priceless. Aside from her skill set, she has the intangibles and a natural desire to teach that is rare!"
For her career, the 6-3 forward appeared in 114 games while making 65 starts for the Penguins over her five years in Youngstown. She has notched career totals of 1,299 points, 540 rebounds, 91 blocks and 75 assists while shooting 53.2% from the floor. She became the 22nd member of the Youngstown State women's basketball 1,000-point club in 2018-19 during a shortened season due to injury.
"On the court Mary will add to our paint presence and she knows how to compete and work at a high level," said White. "She is beyond ready for this moment and she is excited for the challenge ahead here at Pitt."
Off the court, Dunn was a three-time member of the Horizon League All-Academic Team and was selected as one of four non-seniors to the Google Cloud Third Team Academic All-America Team following the 2018-19 campaign. She earned her bachelor's degree in May 2020 as a double major in communications and sociology, and she carries a 4.0 GPA as a graduate student in the professional communications program.
Dunn is coming off of a career year this year as she earned All-Horizon League Second Team honors after leading the team and ranking seventh in the conference in scoring (16.4 ppg) while adding a career-high 5.9 rebounds per game. She ranked second in the Horizon League in field goal percentage (51.6%) and fourth in free throw percentage (77.8%) across 18 games. The talented scorer finished off her 2020-21 campaign scoring in double figures 15 times while scoring 20+ points a career-high six times including in each of her final three games of the season.
Dunn posted a pair of double-doubles last season as she netted a season-high 26 points and 10 rebounds against Purdue Fort Wayne after going for 25 points and a season-high 11 boards in a road win at Robert Morris. On the year, Dunn shot over 50% from the floor in 11 games and over 70% from the floor in five games as she helped lead the Penguins to 10 victories in the shortened season.
Dunn was enjoying a great start to the 2019-20 campaign before sustaining a season-ending injury and earning a redshirt year as she was averaging 17.0 ppg and 4.8 rpg across a career-high 28.5 mpg. She poured in a career-high 30 points and seven boards in her final game of the season as she went 11-for-18 from the floor in a win over Eastern Michigan. She also went over the 1,000 career point plateau in the win over the Eagles.
The Washington, PA native earned First Team All-Horizon League and Sixth Player of the Year honors following a junior season that saw her average 12.6 points and 5.7 rebounds while posting a career-best 55.7% field goal percentage, ninth best in YSU history. Finished the season scoring in double figures 22 times while notching three double-doubles including a season-best 26 point and 13 rebound effort in a home win over UIC.
As a sophomore, Dunn appeared in 32 games while making 12 starts as she averaged 6.8 points and 3.8 rebounds while still being efficient as she shot 54.7% from the floor, ranking third in the Horizon League in field goal percentage. She scored in double figures five times while notching her first career double-double with 23 points and 12 boards in a win over Ohio Valley.
Her college career got off to a great start as she was named Horizon League Freshman of the Year following the 2016-17 campaign as she led conference freshmen in scoring. Dunn finished the season averaging 11.3 points and 3.9 rebounds while connecting on 51.4% of her field goal attempts.
Dunn will be making a homecoming as she grew up in the Pittsburgh area, going to high school at Trinity. During her strong senior high school season, she earned Third Team All-State honors in Class AAA as she averaged a team-high 17.6 points. She also helped lead Trinity to their first WPIAL Championship game during her final season.
"As a Pittsburgh area native, she is going to proudly represent the Pitt script and there is no doubt that the community and her family are excited to welcome her home," expressed White.
Dunn will be expected to make a big impact on a youthful roster as she joins a 2021 class that includes incoming freshman forward Maliyah Johnson from Columbus, Ohio.
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"The addition of Mary Dunn to our team is going to be impactful on a number of levels," explained head coach Lance White. "She is going to bring veteran experience to our young roster both on the court and as a leader off the court. Mary averaged 16 points per game last season, is a 1,000-point scorer, and has played well over 100 games in her career, and this type of experience is priceless. Aside from her skill set, she has the intangibles and a natural desire to teach that is rare!"
For her career, the 6-3 forward appeared in 114 games while making 65 starts for the Penguins over her five years in Youngstown. She has notched career totals of 1,299 points, 540 rebounds, 91 blocks and 75 assists while shooting 53.2% from the floor. She became the 22nd member of the Youngstown State women's basketball 1,000-point club in 2018-19 during a shortened season due to injury.
"On the court Mary will add to our paint presence and she knows how to compete and work at a high level," said White. "She is beyond ready for this moment and she is excited for the challenge ahead here at Pitt."
Off the court, Dunn was a three-time member of the Horizon League All-Academic Team and was selected as one of four non-seniors to the Google Cloud Third Team Academic All-America Team following the 2018-19 campaign. She earned her bachelor's degree in May 2020 as a double major in communications and sociology, and she carries a 4.0 GPA as a graduate student in the professional communications program.
Dunn is coming off of a career year this year as she earned All-Horizon League Second Team honors after leading the team and ranking seventh in the conference in scoring (16.4 ppg) while adding a career-high 5.9 rebounds per game. She ranked second in the Horizon League in field goal percentage (51.6%) and fourth in free throw percentage (77.8%) across 18 games. The talented scorer finished off her 2020-21 campaign scoring in double figures 15 times while scoring 20+ points a career-high six times including in each of her final three games of the season.
Dunn posted a pair of double-doubles last season as she netted a season-high 26 points and 10 rebounds against Purdue Fort Wayne after going for 25 points and a season-high 11 boards in a road win at Robert Morris. On the year, Dunn shot over 50% from the floor in 11 games and over 70% from the floor in five games as she helped lead the Penguins to 10 victories in the shortened season.
Dunn was enjoying a great start to the 2019-20 campaign before sustaining a season-ending injury and earning a redshirt year as she was averaging 17.0 ppg and 4.8 rpg across a career-high 28.5 mpg. She poured in a career-high 30 points and seven boards in her final game of the season as she went 11-for-18 from the floor in a win over Eastern Michigan. She also went over the 1,000 career point plateau in the win over the Eagles.
The Washington, PA native earned First Team All-Horizon League and Sixth Player of the Year honors following a junior season that saw her average 12.6 points and 5.7 rebounds while posting a career-best 55.7% field goal percentage, ninth best in YSU history. Finished the season scoring in double figures 22 times while notching three double-doubles including a season-best 26 point and 13 rebound effort in a home win over UIC.
As a sophomore, Dunn appeared in 32 games while making 12 starts as she averaged 6.8 points and 3.8 rebounds while still being efficient as she shot 54.7% from the floor, ranking third in the Horizon League in field goal percentage. She scored in double figures five times while notching her first career double-double with 23 points and 12 boards in a win over Ohio Valley.
Her college career got off to a great start as she was named Horizon League Freshman of the Year following the 2016-17 campaign as she led conference freshmen in scoring. Dunn finished the season averaging 11.3 points and 3.9 rebounds while connecting on 51.4% of her field goal attempts.
Dunn will be making a homecoming as she grew up in the Pittsburgh area, going to high school at Trinity. During her strong senior high school season, she earned Third Team All-State honors in Class AAA as she averaged a team-high 17.6 points. She also helped lead Trinity to their first WPIAL Championship game during her final season.
"As a Pittsburgh area native, she is going to proudly represent the Pitt script and there is no doubt that the community and her family are excited to welcome her home," expressed White.
Dunn will be expected to make a big impact on a youthful roster as she joins a 2021 class that includes incoming freshman forward Maliyah Johnson from Columbus, Ohio.
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