>> Konchalski Honored

The late longtime local basketball scout Tom Konchalski has been named the posthumous recipient of the 2023 John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The award will be presented Aug. 11 at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.

---

>> Locals in NCAA Tournament

The St. John’s University, Jamaica, women’s basketball team made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2015- 2016 season.

In its first-round matchup on March 16, the Red Storm defeated Purdue University, 66-64, to become the No.
11 seed in the Seattle 3 women’s bracket. The second round featured a matchup on March 18 with the No. 6 University of North Carolina, which the Johnnies lost in a close game, 61-59.

Suiting up for the Johnnies were former GCHSAA standouts Danielle Patterson, a graduate student forward who was an All-American at The Mary Louis Academy, Jamaica Estates, and Skye Owen, a freshman guard who played at St. Francis Prep, Fresh Meadows.

Here are some other student-athletes in the men’s tournament with ties to the diocese:

NCAA Men

Tyson Walker: senior guard; played at Christ the King H.S., Middle Village. Hassan Diarra: junior guard; played at Holy Cross H.S., Flushing

Emmett Hendry: freshman guard; played Catholic Youth Organization ball at Immaculate Heart of Mary parish, Windsor Terrace

Richie Springs: junior forward; played at Bishop Loughlin H.S., Fort Greene

Markquis Nowell: senior guard; played at Bishop Loughlin

NCAA Women

Reyna Scott: freshman guard; played at Nazareth H.S., East Flatbush; current team is the No. 5 University of Oklahoma

Natalija Marshall: junior forward; played at Christ the King; current team is the No. 3 University of Notre Dame

Maddy Siegrist: senior forward; spends summers in Breezy Point at Blessed Trinity parish; current team is No. 4 Villanova University

JeAnna Cunningham: junior center; played at St. Francis Prep; current team is the No. 10 University of Alabama