Maria Blazejewski ’13
Maria Blazejewski ‘13 was one of the most accomplished student-athletes in Lake Superior State women’s basketball history during her career from 2009 to 2013. A two-year team captain, she led the Lakers in scoring three times (2009-10, 2011-12, and 2012-13) and led the team in rebounding as a senior, averaging 6.5 rebounds per game. Her outstanding 2012-13 season earned First Team All-GLIAC honors after receiving Second Team recognition in both 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Blazejewski’s name remains prominent throughout the Laker record book. She ranks fifth all-time in career scoring with 1,585 points, fifth in free-throw percentage (80.2%), seventh in free throws made (372), and tenth in field goals made (581). Her senior season was one of the finest in program history, highlighted by a school-record 164 free throws made, an 86.8 percent free-throw percentage that ranks fourth all-time, and a scoring average of 17.8 points per game, ninth-best in a single season.
Her contributions to the program extended beyond statistics. Blazejewski earned the Terry McDermott Freshman of the Year Award, the Bud Cooper Coaches Award, the Chris Comito Award, and the Deb McPherson Outstanding Female Athlete of the Year Award. In recognition of her lasting impact on the program, the women’s basketball team established the “4 Award” in honor of her jersey number. The award recognizes what a student-athlete has given to the university, community, and team, and continues to be presented to deserving Lakers women’s basketball players.
A standout in the classroom as well, Blazejewski earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science and graduated magna cum laude. She was named to the Dean’s List all four years and received GLIAC Academic Excellence honors three times.
Looking back on her time at Lake State, Blazejewski is most appreciative of the relationships she built along the way. “When I look back on my time with the LSSU women’s basketball program, the first thing that comes to mind is my Laker teammates,” she said. “We pushed each other every day, worked tirelessly side by side, and built memories that went far beyond the court.”
Following her graduation, Blazejewski embarked on a successful professional basketball career that has taken her to nine countries across Europe, Australia, and Puerto Rico. Among her many accomplishments, she finished sixth in MVP voting in Australia’s WNBL, earned All-Portugal First Team and All-Portugal Import Team honors, averaged more than 19 points per game in four professional leagues, and was recognized in 2023 as one of the Grand Traverse area’s Influential Women.
Despite her success on the international stage, Blazejewski says she has gained an even greater appreciation for the support she received during her years as a Laker. She remains grateful to her family, friends, professors, fellow students, alumni, and members of the Sault Ste. Marie community who helped shape her experience at Lake Superior State and looks forward to reconnecting with many of them at the October reunion.
Blazejewski’s connection to LSSU also runs through her family. Her parents, Mark and Kathleen, are both LSSU alumni, and she has an older sister, Meredith, and older brother, Lucas. Her father, Mark, was a member of the 1975-76 LSSU men’s basketball team, which was inducted into the LSSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.