Senior forward Amadea Szamosi goes up for a layup in a contest with Lehigh University on November 13 at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
By Andrew White | Staff Writer
On Jan. 7, Duquesne’s women’s basketball forward Amadea Szamosi reached a career milestone.
The 6-foot-3 senior recorded her 1,000th career point in a Dukes uniform coming on a putback layup as time expired in the first quarter of the team’s 73-51 victory over conference foe Davidson.
“Honestly I didn’t think about it at the moment, I didn’t even realize it at first,” Szamosi said. “I found out in the locker room at halftime. To play four years here has been a dream come true, and to reach this milestone is a great feeling.”
Szamosi, a native of Hungary, came to the Dukes in 2013 and has since established herself as a dominant force in the front court. As a freshman, Szamosi averaged 2.3 points per game while playing an average of six minutes per game.
The European product started 33 out of 34 contests in the Dukes 2014-15 campaign; with her extended playing time also came more production. Szamosi averaged 10.5 points per game and also added 5.71 rebounds per game in her sophomore season.
Szamosi kept on rolling during her junior year increasing her points per game total to 11.5, finishing the season with a career-best 390 points.
Szamosi is not only a star for the Dukes here in Pittsburgh. The forward has also played for her home country in multiple international events, as well as a handful of European club teams.
Szamosi has been named to all tournament teams in three different FIBA events, the first at the 2010 U16 FIBA European Championships, and the other two at the U18 FIBA European Championships in 2011 and 2012. Her most recent international appearance occurred after her freshman season when she helped lead the Hungarian U20 team to a silver medal at the 2014 U20 European Championships.
Szamosi was also named the 2010 Hungarian Player of the Year. Coming out of Hungary, she was considered to be one of the top post players in Europe for her age.
While Szamosi knew that she was talented enough to play NCAA Division I basketball, she wasn’t sure if that was the right move for her life.
“I was scared to come over to America at first, because I had to step out of my comfort zone and move to a different continent,” Szamosi said. “But, I am so glad I did because I would not have had any of the great experiences here on and off the court without doing that.”
When Szamosi made the decision to leave her homeland for basketball she also had to choose a school, something she described as an easy decision.
“In my heart I always knew Duquesne was the right place for me, and when I got here I knew I made the right choice,” Szamosi said.
In his postgame press conference, head coach Dan Burt had nothing but good words to say about Szamosi.
“Amadea means a lot to the program and she means an awful lot to me,” Burt said. “You could not ask for a better human being.”
During the same press conference, Burt also gave praise to Szamosi for attacking her early limitations as a freshman and improving herself as an all around better basketball player throughout her time in the Red & Blue.
Since the game against Davidson, Szamosi’s point total has continued to rise. Following Wednesday’s home game against Saint Louis her count stands at 1,063 career points.
“It’s great to have the milestones to look back on in the future, and this is going to be something I will always cherish,” Szamosi said.
