Patty Stoffey loves the baskets and the scoring records and the recognition they bring, nearly as much as she enjoys collecting the bruises that come with them.
"It's crazy under there. It's day in and day out of getting hit, and I love it," said Stoffey, describing her job as power forward on Loyola's basketball team. "I love getting hit, then going up strong and making the shot. I like getting the bruises on me.
"Then, I come to practice and they [her teammates] beat up on me some more. Hopefully, it makes me a better player."
All Stoffey has done is become the top player in school history and one of the best the state has seen while dragging Loyola out of the Division I basement.
The Greyhounds buried more than a decade of futility last spring. They won their first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title and advanced to their first NCAA Division I tournament after Stoffey averaged 33 points and 11 rebounds over three games. That capped a season in which Stoffey emerged as the second-leading scorer in the nation.
Loyola is 5-1 this season, its best start in 16 years. Tonight, the Greyhounds will try to make history by becoming the first state team to beat Maryland under 20-year coach Chris Weller. Like every other Loyola opponent, the Terps' first order of business will be to contain Stoffey. Most opponents have failed.
A 5-foot-10 combination of hustle, strength, skills and grit, Stoffey is your basic scoring and rebounding machine. She enters tonight's contest leading Loyola in scoring (22.7), rebounding (8.8), free throws (32), free-throw attempts (45) and shooting percentage (.627).
Stoffey heads into the heart of her senior season sporting other weighty numbers. After becoming the top women's scorer in school history last season, Stoffey has increased her career production to 1,906 points. She needs 23 to pass former Maryland standout Vicky Bullett as the top Division I scorer in state history. With 294 more points, she'd be the top scorer in Loyola history, men included.
"I'm not going to lie. This [record] is great, but it's not the most important thing on my mind," Stoffey said. "I've seen what happens to players who, as soon as the game is over, want to know many points they have. I don't walk around with a big head. I don't want it to be me and 11 other girls. But there are certain parts of the game where I have to take charge."
Stoffey already is Loyola's definitive go-to player. In 91 career games, she has led the Greyhounds in scoring 72 times. She has been Loyola's leading scorer in 33 of her past 35 games.
And Loyola, as Stoffey and third-year coach Pat Coyle point out, is not a one-player team, not with an explosive forward such as senior Camille Joyner or a smart, steady point guard such as senior Colleen Colsher. But the Greyhounds are unquestionably Stoffey's team.
"Her scoring is just one aspect of what she brings to the team. It's more of her leadership on the court," Colsher said. "In the tight situations, we can look to her, and she'll be there. It's hard to say what's not her bread and butter. She's amazing. Her strength is probably what impresses me the most."
Stoffey, superbly conditioned and strengthened by weight training, needs every edge she can get. In the paint, she often is matched against someone bigger. Defenses constantly double- and triple-team her. She combats that by finding the open player or by using the low-post power moves she has mastered. Usually, the shot goes in or Stoffey heads to the foul line -- or both.
The only thing Stoffey lacks is an outside shot. She runs the floor like a guard, and in the Greyhounds' fast break is an excellent finisher. She is also their scrappiest rebounder; many of her points result from follow-up shots in traffic. And she rarely takes an ill-advised shot, as her career .503 shooting percentage attests.
"She is the best post player we're going to see all season," said Mount St. Mary's coach Bill Sheahan, after his Mountaineers dropped a recent, 78-67 decision to Loyola, largely due to Stoffey's 29 points and 12 rebounds.
"Some of my players were around when she scored 24 against us as a sophomore, and I think they were a little intimidated by her."
Many college coaches weren't impressed enough by Stoffey to give her a serious look. They had no problems with her skills or work ethic. After all, as a center at Pottsville (Pa.) High, she led her 29-3 team to the Eastern Pennsylvania finals by averaging 25.8 points and 10 rebounds. It was Stoffey's height that kept the Division I recruiters away.
"What it came down to is nobody wanted a 5-10 forward at a big school," said Stoffey, who, after a last-minute visit to Evergreen, turned down Division II Pace University of New York and signed with former Loyola coach Frank Szymanski. "I understood that, but I wanted to play."
One of those recruiters who initially passed on Stoffey was Coyle. Her last assistant coaching stop was at St. Joseph's before she replaced Szymanski in 1992.
"I saw her play a couple of times in high school. Obviously, she was a good player, but we were signing 6-2 and 6-3 forwards at St. Joe's," Coyle said. "But you can't measure the size of a kid's heart or her work ethic. Hopefully, I'll never have to learn that lesson again.
"Some players are dogs in practice, but get jacked up when the lights go on and the bands start playing. Some are great in practice, but they turn into spectators when the game starts. Rarely do you get a kid like Stoffey that practices and plays so hard. She's a throwback."
When Stoffey arrived at Loyola, she was unaccustomed to losing, which the Greyhounds were all too familiar with. In her freshman season, they struggled through a 6-21 year -- their 12th straight losing season -- while Szymanski shuffled Stoffey between the post and the wing. Despite struggling with her outside shot, she started all but one game and averaged 16.4 points and eight rebounds.
Coyle brought an air of Division I success to the program, and one of her first decisions was to put Stoffey back where she was most dangerous and comfortable -- wreaking havoc in the paint. Stoffey responded as a sophomore by averaging 37 minutes and 19.7 points and helping Loyola advance to its first MAAC title game. The Greyhounds lost, finished with an encouraging 14-15 pTC record and came to camp last season expecting to win.
Stoffey spent the next five months carrying the Greyhounds, leading them in scoring in 28 of 29 games and topping off a terrific season in the MAAC tournament.
"I never thought that would happen that quickly," Stoffey said. "Now, people know who Loyola is, and we're a part of that. We've helped Loyola get a little place on the map. We want that feeling again. We have to be stronger now than ever. Everybody is after us now. This program is on the rise."