IRVINE — When I say UC Irvine senior Diaba Konaté is utterly determined to win her next game, to do everything she can to extend her beloved basketball career, you say of course she is. So are hundreds of seniors whose playing days likely will end when their teams’ NCAA Tournament runs do. What makes her any different?
Well, nothing.
But one thing.
Konaté, like so many others, has been plying her trade since she was an 11-year-old in Paris who soon had a hoop dream of playing college ball.
She’s 23 now, and she’s living it, a testament to hard work and dedication. Aptitude, attitude – she’s the ray of sunshine solar-powering the No. 13-seeded Anteaters (23-8) into their first-round matchup against No. 4 Gonzaga (30-3) on the Zags’ home floor at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Spokane, Washington.
Later this year, Konaté will go home as a Big West champion who helped lead UCI to its second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.
And, yes, there is women’s basketball in France.
But not for women like her.
Oh, Konaté is good enough to continue playing. The 5-foot-7 guard is Spider-Woman on defense – the Big West’s “Best Defensive Player” this season – with a nifty grab bag of offensive tricks. She led the Big West with 115 assists. So she’d had this next part all worked out too, she said, what was to happen after college: “I came to America, I got better and then I can show my talents to my friends and family back home.”
Absolutely, the plan was to keep playing, and there’s no reason to think she wouldn’t still be in the running to make France’s 3×3 national team.
Except that she’s a Muslim woman in a hijab.
Almost time 🏆🏀#TogetherWeZot | #RipEm pic.twitter.com/UqC6fmunk4
— UCI Women’s Basketball (@UCIwbb) March 16, 2024
A Muslim woman who chooses to cover her head in public, something she started doing in 2021 during a period of reflection during the pandemic. She realized, she said, how much comfort and…
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