Jess Brungo played in the shadow of Penn State's All-American guard, Kelly Mazzante, the past four seasons.

Mazzante is the Big Ten's all-time leading scorer, was a two-time conference player of the year and was the face of the Lady Lions. Brungo was a steady, yet unheralded player who did the dirty work and little things.

That's why it was a shock yesterday when Brungo was selected before Mazzante in the second round of the 2004 WNBA draft. The Connecticut Sun picked Brungo with the third pick of the second round (No. 16 overall), two spots before Mazzante was selected by the Charlotte Sting.

The surprising developments caught many people by surprise, but none more so than Brungo, who was nearly speechless when she found out the good news.

"I can't put into words how I am feeling right now," said Brungo, a 6-foot-1 guard/forward from North Allegheny High School.

"I'm so excited. I just never expected this to happen and I'm just looking forward to this amazing opportunity. I can't say how excited and thrilled I am right now."

Brungo averaged 10.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game this past season and scored 1,142 career points. Mazzante, who scored 2,919 career points and made 357 3-pointers, said that being drafted in any round is an honor and one that puts her in an elite category.She admitted, however, that the snub gives her something to prove.

"You can look at it in a lot of ways," Mazzante said. "There is no pressure because I am a second-rounder as opposed to a first. But you always have to prove yourself no matter where you are picked, and this will just provide me with a little more motivation, make me work a little harder."

Mazzante and Brungo were two of five players with local ties who were drafted yesterday and two of three picked in the first two rounds of the three-round draft. Illinois forward Cindy Dallas, a Schenley High graduate, also was picked in the second round (No. 21 overall) by the San Antonio Silver Stars.

Duquesne guard Candace Futrell was picked by the Sun in the third round (No. 29 overall), and the Minnesota Lynx used the 38th and final pick to select West Virginia guard Kate Bulger. That selection is not much of a surprise because the Lynx is coached by Suzie McConnell Serio -- who also coached Bulger for four years at Oakland Catholic High .

Futrell, who averaged 21.4 points per game and was the Atlantic 10 co-player of the year, said she is happy to be headed to Connecticut because she believes she has a great chance of making the team.

"They play an up-tempo game and really like to work in transition. And that is my game. "I'm just glad the stressful part of it is over and I can get back to playing basketball."

Overall, there were few surprises in the draft, other than Mazzante's fall to the second round.

The Phoenix Mercury drafted Connecticut's all-everything guard Diana Taurasi with the first pick, and the Washington Mystics followed by selecting Duke's Alana Beard. Stanford's Nicole Powell (Charlotte Sting), Minnesota's Lindsay Whalen (Connecticut Sun) and Arkansas guard Shameka Christon (New York Liberty) rounded out the top five.