Southmoreland’s Cali Konek commits to UNC-Charlotte

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, March 20, 2018 | 8:51 PM

Cali Konek has been on the radar of Division I college coaches since she burst onto the scene in 2015 as a high-scoring freshman at Imani Christian.

She scored more than 1,000 points that season and averaged 45.4 per game.

After three years of high school basketball at three different schools and just one scholarship offer on the table, Konek decided it was time to make her college decision.

The 5-foot-7 junior point guard from Southmoreland gave a verbal commitment Monday to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, which competes in Conference USA.

UNC-Charlotte coaches came to Alverton a few times this season to watch Konek play. The 49ers were her only current offer. Previous offers, made very early in her career from Georgia Tech, Pepperdine and Duquesne, were pulled — take-it-or-leave-it stipulations and coaching changes among the reasons.

William & Mary and Utah also showed interest this year.

ESPN has Konek ranked 14th in the country among point guards in her class.

UNC-Charlotte coach Cara Consuegra sent out an unspecific tweet Monday saying, “Striking GOLD up here in Pittsburgh!! Great day to be a Niner!”

Striking GOLD up here in Pittsburgh!! Great day to be a Niner! ⛏??

— Cara Consuegra (@cconsuegra) March 20, 2018

Konek averaged 17.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 3.2 steals per game for Southmoreland, but she missed the final eight games of this season with a right knee injury. The injury did not require surgery.

Southmoreland finished 12-10 but did not qualify for the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs. Konek had an up-and-down season as she battled the injury. She had 42 points in one game and three in another.

Konek, who played her sophomore season at Riverdale Baptist (Md.), has 1,528 career points.

UNC-Charlotte has “struck gold” in Westmoreland County before. Former Jeannette star Ciara Gregory had an impressive career there. Konek could play a similar role to Gregory’s with her outside shooting and scorer’s mentality.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Southmoreland