January 11, 2005

     Note: Malloriie was a 7-year Starter player.

     MERIDEN: The influence goes back 10 years, back to when Jen Rizzotti was leading the UConn women's basketball team to an undefeated national championship and a grade-schooler in the Silver City was so inspired she took up the game.
     The kid was really short, just like Rizzotti, and she learned to dribble really well, just like Rizzotti.
     The grade-schooler wrote a letter. The college point guard wrote back.
     Ten years later, Rizzotti is coaching at the University of Hartford and Mallorie Michalak is hoping to reintroduce herself. Though still short, checking in at a mere 4-foot-11, Michalak has developed into a gifted point guard, a year-round player who's been a standout at Platt since her freshman season.
     Michalak is only a junior, but already knows where she wants to take her game beyond high school. She's known for quite a while.
     "I want to play for the University of Hartford. I really want to play for Jen Rizzotti," she said.
     Introductions might not be hard to come by. Tom Johnson, who returned to the Platt bench this year, once coached Rizzotti in AAU. Johnson is hoping to take his Platt team to Hartford's Jan. 22 home game with New Hampshire. He figures Rizzotti won't be inclined to look down at a small point guard.
     "And not one who plays as hard as Mallorie does," Johnson said. "She's the same type of player Jen was. Exactly the same type of player: a fiery little point guard who can shoot the three."
     "I can't really play any other position; I'm too small," joked Michalak, who with her kneepads and long socks shows no leg when she plays. "It's easier for me to dribble the ball and harder for people to steal because I'm so low to the ground. So I use it as an advantage."
     Michalak brought her trademark ballhandling and passing to the floor Monday night at home against Bloomfield. She even banked in a 3-pointer from just beyond halfcourt to end the third quarter.
     On this night, though, it was not enough. Bloomfield extended a five-point lead by outscoring Platt 11-2 in the fourth quarter to post a 45-31 decision and complete a CCC interdivisional sweep of the Panthers.
     Sophomore guard Amanda Pelcher led Platt with 13 points, but struggled with her shot. Michalak finished with nine; the first time she's been under double-digits all season.
     Michalak had been good for 15.8 points a game. She averaged 16.1 last year and hit 37 3-pointers.
     This season, Michalak has been more of a distributor, according to Johnson. Monday bore witness. On one fast break, Michalak was under the basket, but too far underneath to get a good shot. So she kicked the ball back to freshman forward Janee' Lennox, who was open coming down the lane.
     Another good play didn't result in points. With 10 seconds left in the first half, Michalak calmly brought the ball the length of the floor, momentarily lost her handle at the top of the key, regained it and dodged a defender with a between-the-legs dribble, then dished off to an open Missy Barnard on the wing. Barnard's shot at the buzzer went in, then kicked out.
     That was Platt's night in nutshell, but Michalak remains optimistic on the season.
     "This year is a recuperating year," she said, while noting the improved play Platt has shown in 2004-2005. "We have a new coach; we're all young players. Hopefully, this year is a learning year so next year we can have a great season."
     Actually, seasons overlap for Michalak. She plays with the Connecticut Starters, her AAU club since fifth grade, in the spring and fall. She plays in several summer leagues, as well as the Meriden Boys & Girls Club fall league.
     "This is what she does. Mallorie is a basketball player," said Johnson. "That's why she is so talented and so skilled ... Some college could get very lucky if they pick her up."