June 16, 2008

BEMIDJI, Minn. - Former Bemidji State University women’s basketball player Nancy McConkey (Superior, Wis.) has been selected to participate with Athletes in Action (AIA) basketball before the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The AIA team will be composed of NCAA Divsion I and II players.

They will play Mali, the number one ranked team in Africa. Mali will play the United States at the Olympics on August 13. Also, AIA will play Senegal and other national teams in Africa. They will be in Africa from the middle of July through the middle of August.

“This is a great opportunity for Nancy to do two things that she loves,” commented BSU head coach Mike Curfman. “I know that she has deep faith and has a deep passion for basketball. It is great anytime you have a former player go on and do something that allows them to continue using their basketball skills in other aspects of their life.”

After graduating from Bemidji State with a major in psychology in the spring of 2007, McConkey has worked at HRC Mental Health in Superior, Wis. She will pursue graduate school at the University of Minnesota in the fall of 2008 in sociology.

Every summer AIA sends teams of college athletes in multiple sports to compete overseas, spreading the message of their Christian faith with opponents and fans alike. Based in Xenia, Ohio, AIA has been sending men’s and women’s teams out for almost three decades, often playing nationally-ranked teams on their exhibition tour.

While at Bemidji State, McConkey scored 911 points, grabbed 411 rebounds and shot 47.6 percent from the field and 77 percent from the charity stripe in 101 games played. She is one of seven Bemidji State players to record a 30-point game during her career as she netted 30 points versus the St. Cloud State Huskies on Jan. 3, 2005. At the conclusion of her sophomore season she was named to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference All-Honorable Mention Team.

McConkey played at Maranatha High School (Superior, Wis.) and Webster High School where she compiled 1,324 career points and 626 rebounds. During her senior season at Maranatha, she averaged 18 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. She was the 2002-03 Daily Telegram Player of the Year and was selected to the Duluth News Tribune All-Area Team. Besides being a basketball standout she was a three time participate at the Wisconsin State Cross Country Championships.

Bemidji State University, located in Bemidji, Minn., is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).

--beavers--