Mackenzie Hare caught graduate forward Frannie Hottinger’s pass and — without hesitation — pulled up and drilled a 3-pointer from the wing with the same stroke she used to make 75 triples before this one this season.
Yet, number 76 meant more.
The sophomore guard’s second make from deep in a 68-62 comeback victory over Seton Hall vaulted her name past former guard Natisha Hiedeman’s for the most threes made by a second-year player in program history.
Hare’s infamous corner-to-wing slide — which is what she did to make her record-setting three — is just one of the several in-game movements she works on to build her confidence.
“We do a lot of training to get me in positions that are exactly like the game,” Hare said. “I get to work with the pressure of having the defense in front of me and then it’s a matter of trusting that process.”
The game rehearsals have paid off in major ways for Hare.
After shooting 31% from beyond the arc last season, Hare has soared to No. 8 nationally in 3-point shooting, scoring from downtown at a 44.8% clip. On top of that, she has doubled her points-per-game from 7.1 last season to 14.9 this year.
For Hare, scoring more leads to being more confident that her shots will just keep falling.
“My teammates have a lot of confidence in me and they do a great job of getting me the ball,” Hare said. “They let me know I can let it fly.”
Her coaches feed off of Hare’s shooting, too.
“Kenzie’s confidence is contagious for our team,” assistant coach Kayla Kleifgen said. “Even when she’s had games where she’s not shot well, she continues to shoot it because of that confidence and the work she’s put in.”
The Naperville, Illinois native goes as far as her work takes her.
“She has a lot of swagger, and I think every shot she shoots is going to go in,” Kleifgen said. “She can get looks in so many different ways, and that’s not something that just happens; it comes with the work she puts in.”
Everything Hare has done has helped allow her to score in double-figures in all but five games this season. She’s also touched the 20-point mark four times — including a career-high 25 points against Boston College in the Fort Myers Tip-Off semifinals — and earned two Big East Weekly Honor Roll nominations.
While Hare has been the most successful from deep, head coach Megan Duffy said she would love to see Hare expand her range to inside the arc.
“She’s been able to be crafty downhill and pick up an assist every so often,” Duffy said. “She will spend 15-20 minutes after practice working on the little nuances of the offense, and it’s fun to see her being rewarded from the little things.”
Hare said becoming a multi-dimensional offensive threat has opened things up for her game.
“They can’t just run me off the three-point line anymore,” Hare said. “They have to defend me straight up because I can get to the rim and get my teammates open.”
Kleifgen said Hare’s versatility not only benefits her but also the rest of her teammates.
“When we move and share the ball the way we do, and Kenzie is not only a three-point threat, but also a threat at the rim and in mid-range looks, people have to key in on her and that opens things up for everyone else,” Kleifgen said.
Hare has utilized her craftiness, doubling her assists this season from 30 to 73, as well as increasing her field goal percentage from 33.5% to 48.6%.
Duffy said this level of versatility is becoming a staple for all the guards on the team.
“We want them to be three-level scorers,” Duffy said. “It’s always been how we teach; they put the work in and you give them the green light.”
While Hare continues to develop further into a multi-threat player, she won’t turn down an opportunity to catch-and-shoot a three off a stag screen.
“I like to get the defense going the other way, and then come off the double screen,” Hare said. “My screeners do a really good job and then I only need a little bit of space to get a look.”
Whether it’s a stag, a flare screen, a step back, you name it, Hare will continue to extend her newfound record, and Duffy said it all comes back to who she really is.
“Kenzie is a warrior,” Duffy said. “She just continues to fight, and what she is doing to help our team every night is tremendous for us.”
This story was written by Trevor Hilson. He can be reached at [email protected] or @hilsontrevor on Twitter/X.
