University of Minnesota Athletics
Brianna Mastey Feature Story
1/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Brianna Mastey has come a long way from her first basketball practice in sixth grade. The Becker native recalls that moment in her athletic career vividly. She remembers being scared because her coach yelled a lot. She almost cried.
Now a 6'1" sophomore playing for the University of Minnesota, Brianna has toughened up. She has learned to love basketball and all sports. Brianna hopes to major in Sports Management at the University, and she enjoys watching other Gopher teams, especially volleyball and women's hockey.
"Hockey's really fun to watch," said Mastey. "The rules are a little different, but I still like watching girls' hockey. They've got a good team. I played volleyball in high school, so that's another sport I like to watch."
Mastey was an outstanding high school athlete. She earned three varsity letters in volleyball, one in softball, and four in basketball. In her junior basketball season Brianna averaged 20.1 points and 13.5 rebounds, and led her team to the Minnesota 3A state championship. Becker defeated DeLaSalle in the state title game 41-39, and Mastey scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the game.
In Brianna's senior season, she was a Minnesota Ms. Basketball finalist. Brianna was the Mississippi Eight League MVP in her junior and senior seasons. She set records at Becker High School in scoring and rebounds, with 2,060 and 1,351 in her career, respectively.
Mastey didn't always know that she could play at a collegiate level. She first realized she could continue with basketball after high school "probably my sophomore year in high school. People started to tell me little things like you could possibly play college basketball, and that's when I started to get involved with AAU," Brianna said.
Brianna played her AAU ball for the Minnesota Stars and coach Hested, along with fellow Gophers Amber Dvorak, Katie Ohm, and Nicole Mastey.
Brianna and twin sister Nicole have been together every step of the way. Brianna is the older twin by a minute, and the two have stuck by each other ever since. They played high school basketball and volleyball together, and after living apart during their freshman season, the Masteys are roommates again.
"Last year we didn't really get the option [to live together]," Brianna said. "They put us in with different athletes in the dorms, so that we could meet different people and have friends outside of basketball, so we didn't really have the choice. This year we decided we would live together."
For Brianna, living with her sister doesn't feel any differently than when they shared a room at home growing up. Even when the two lived apart last year, they found ways to spend most of their time together.
"When we lived apart in the dorms I was still always over there. We'd always do homework together."
The twins are teammates on and off the court, sharing cooking and cleaning duties in their apartment.
"We usually switch off and on. If I cook, she'll do the dishes for that night, or if she cooks, I'll do the dishes. We usually take turns, or we'll clean together," Brianna said.
On the court this season, Brianna has very straight-forward goals.
"My big goal is to just keep improving and to see more minutes on the floor," she said.
Her goal for the team is a bigger one.
"I think that one of the big goals is to get a Big Ten championship. Everybody wants to get one of those, and each year we want to get to the NCAA Tournament and make it deeper and deeper each year."
Brianna has grown more sure of herself as a basketball player in her time at the University of Minnesota. She is now a veteran member of the team, and with her freshman season under her belt, she is looking to help the Gophers in any way that she can.
"I'm a lot more comfortable on the floor [this year]. Being a freshman, it's nerve-wracking getting on the floor. You're not quite sure what to do. This year I'm a lot more confident. I know what's going on. You can tell there's a big difference from last year to this year in how much more comfortable I am on the floor."
Mastey describes herself as athletic and versatile on the basketball court. Her team will definitely be able to use those traits in their quest for a Big Ten championship.
Article by Alli Johnson
