NANTY GLO, Pa. – Blacklick Valley High School senior Mackenzie Kinter did not envision a day when she would commit to play college basketball.
She suffered two knee injuries that limited her to just one game between her sophomore and junior seasons. Despite facing adversity, Kinter returned to the court as a senior and excelled.
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She led the Vikings to their third straight WestPAC title.
In the process, she earned an opportunity to play basketball at St. Francis University when she committed to the program Friday afternoon.
“Honestly, no,” Kinter said when she was asked if she saw herself playing college basketball. “I never thought of quitting after my two injuries because I’ve worked so hard since first grade. After I hurt myself twice, I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know. What do I have to lose?’ I’m just going to go for it. I’m going to come back my senior year.
“You can’t really control how you get hurt. Senior year, my main goal was just to get through the whole season without injuries. Everyone was there to support me, and that’s how I got through it.”
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Kinter was drawn to St. Francis because of its exercise physiology major. She plans to attain her doctorate of physical therapy.
“Whenever I went on my first tour for academics, it just felt like home to me,” Kinter said. “It was the college I knew I wanted to go to. My friend Riley (Hoover), I always texted her. I was like, ‘How is it up there?’ She’s like, ‘It’s great. I love it.’ It’s just so much more different than high school. You meet brand-new people that are real nice and they welcome you to the college.”
She missed her entire sophomore season and played in only one game as a junior. The 5-foot-6 guard will join a St. Francis program making a transition from the NCAA Division I level down to Division III under coach Raphael McNeill. The Red Flash finished 3-26 overall and 3-16 in the Northeast Conference during the 2025-26 season.
Kinter averaged 16.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.2 assists per game as a senior.
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She totaled 698 points (14.9 per game), 233 rebounds, 143 steals and 91 assists over 47 career games, despite missing almost two entire seasons.
Kinter was named to the Cambria County Basketball Coaches Association second team and earned a spot on the all-WestPAC team as a senior.
She was the county’s freshman of the year (13.3 points per game) in 2022-23.
She had second thoughts about playing college basketball, but wanted to follow Kristin Szymusiak’s lead. Szymusiak completed her freshman year on the Chatham University basketball team this past season.
“My friend Kristin, she went to college to play ball,” Kinter said. “Maybe this is something that I want to do. Ever since then, I was kind of thinking about it, but wasn’t 100% sure.
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“I wasn’t really planning on playing and then he (McNeill) actually reached out. My mom, she didn’t want me to fail and get behind in school. He was so considerate with academics, too. He said, ‘If you ever struggle, come to me and we’ll figure it out.’ He was real caring for me and what I want to major in.”
Kinter tore her left anterior cruciate ligament as a sophomore, then hurt her right knee as a junior four minutes into the season.
Her perseverance paid off in spades.
“It’s a true testament to her toughness,” Blacklick Valley girls basketball coach Rich Price said. “You can talk about her talent, and she’s very talented. Her work ethic, she puts the time in. She always did, ever since I can remember in fifth grade when I first saw her play.
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“There’s not too many adults that can go through what she went through and come out on the other end in a positive light. It’s her mental and physical toughness that people don’t necessarily see because she’s not an outwardly emotional kid on the court. I’m just really, really proud of her. This was a dream of hers.”
Returning to the court as a senior brought joy to Kinter after watching her teammates play for the majority of two seasons. Rather than feel sorry for herself, she worked hard during rehabilitation in order to compete with her teammates.
“Ever since then, I worked my butt off to get back,” Kinter said. “I went to physical therapy three days a week for six months, for each knee. ‘I’m going to get back and get through my season and hopefully get better for the future.’ ”
Kinter is the daughter of Richard Kinter and Kayley Bowman.
Jake Oswalt is a copy editor for The Tribune-Democrat. Follow him on Twitter @TheWizOfOz11.
