Things are shaping up rather nicely in the life of Iowa State senior Shellie Mosman.

Mosman and the Cyclones will be on center stage when they face the undefeated and top-ranked UConn women's basketball team, she is engaged to be married, already has her college degree and a job lined up.

Mosman, the valedictorian of her high school class, has always been a driven woman. Her zest for the best in her life led her to graduate from Iowa State in three years while playing Division I women's basketball, hardly the easiest of combination. Now she is pursuing a graduate degree as her basketball career winds down.

Through it all, Mosman said the hectic juggling act was not as overwhelming at it may appear to be to the casual onlooker.

"My schedule got set up really nicely during college, I just took the average load that most students take," Mosman said. "I came into college with extra credits (from advanced placement classes) but it is a challenge, I have a class schedule that is full and a basketball schedule which takes a majority of your time and coaches who give you enough time to get your work done.

Mosman probably could have been an impact player had she gone to an Ivy League school but a life-long Iowa State fan, Mosman jumped at the chance to become a Cyclone when she was offered a scholarship when she was in the eighth grader.

Mosman only had 78 points in 72 career games - 14 coming in a Dec. 6 game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff - but she has no regrets of how things have turned out for her and is eager for the next chapter of her life as she will be a financial planner at Edward Jones Investments in her hometown of Carroll, Iowa.

"They said accounting is a really good degree to have for this and they said athletes definitely know about the competitiveness of getting new clients and build a clientele and I think I have what I need to get started," Mosman said.

Of course she would love to delay the transition to becoming a member of the work force by helping to extend Iowa State's season. Mosman still remembers the joy when Iowa State stunned UConn in the 1999 NCAA tournament and would love to experience it first hand.

"It (the 1999 Iowa State win) was pretty sweet, I have been a fan my whole life and I do remember it," Mosman said. "People still talk about it today, I know there are posters in the hallways. I know a lot of people talk about it and we won't forget that."

So can lightning strike twice?

"Whenever you go into a game, you think about the what ifs, you think about that kind of thing," Mosman said.