Jackson sophomore makes area girls basketball history

With a record-breaking performance two weeks ago, Mack Konig posted one of the highest individual point totals in Wesco girls basketball history.

The Jackson High School sophomore phenom poured in a program-record 47 points and almost single-handedly outscored the opposition in the Timberwolves’ 70-48 win over Kamiak on Jan. 24.

“It was amazing,” Jackson coach Corey Gibb said.

And it was incredibly rare.

Coaches and athletic directors from 17 of the 23 current Wesco schools recently provided their girls basketball single-game scoring records to The Daily Herald.

The only mark higher than Konig’s belonged to Everett’s Jo Levin, who dropped 52 points during a contest in the 1970s.

Konig and Gibb, however, went most of the game without realizing just how many points she’d racked up.

“Neither one of us knew exactly how many she had,” Gibb said.

It wasn’t until about six minutes to play, when an assistant coach tapped Gibb on the shoulder, that he realized just how close Konig was to the Jackson school record. At that point, his star 5-foot-8 guard had scored 40.

Kristi Kingma, who went on to become a record-setting 3-point shooter at the University of Washington, held the previous Jackson mark with a 43-point game in 2008. But in the moment, Gibb thought the number to beat was 45.

“I called Mack over and I’m like, ‘Hey, you’ve got 40 points and we still have six minutes to go, so should we go for a school record?’” Gibb said. “And she’s like, ‘Yeah,’ (and she’s) got the grin on her face.

“I got the rest of the girls in on it, and they were totally excited for her. … They were just feeding her the ball, and she just kept attacking and going and going.”

Konig recalls standing at the free-throw line in the closing minutes, sitting at 44 points. Though she’d actually already broken the school record, Konig and her coaches thought she was still one point away from tying Kingma.

Konig missed the free throw, but got a chance to redeem herself on the following possession. That time, she drained a 3-pointer to put herself over the 45-point mark.

“I shot it and I could just hear my whole team almost praying that it would go in,” Konig said. “And (then) all I can remember is my teammates standing up and everybody screaming. It was a special moment. It was quite incredible.”

“I’m really happy for her,” Gibb added. “It couldn’t happen to a better kid.”

Konig achieved the record while shooting an efficient 17-of-29 from the field, which equates to 58.6%. She sank six 3-pointers, made 11 2-pointers and hit 7 of 10 free throws.

“I think the thing that probably stood out the most was her attack,” Gibb said. “I mean, she just kept going and going and going. … And she still rebounded and she still got assists, so it wasn’t just ‘me, me, me, go score.’

“She’s not a one-dimensional, one-end-of-the-court kind of kid. She plays both ends of the floor. … It was a complete game.”

That night was one of many big performances this season for Konig, who entered Friday averaging 25.2 points per game. She had scored at least 30 points in four contests and at least 20 in all but three. She broke another school record earlier last month, when she drained eight 3-pointers during a 34-point effort against Mariner.

This past summer, Konig showcased her elite talent at the FIBA U-16 Women’s European Championship as part of the Austrian under-16 national team. Born in Abbotsford, British Columbia, she has dual citizenship between Canada and Austria.

Konig’s older sister, Aislinn, is a senior starter for the North Carolina State University women’s basketball team.

Mack Konig, meanwhile, isn’t even halfway through her high school career.

“She’s got a lot of basketball at Jackson left ahead of her,” Gibb said. “So I’m sure this won’t be the only school record that’s broken.”

Listed below are the girls single-game scoring records for 17 of the 23 current Wesco schools, according to coaches and athletic directors.

Everett: Jo Levin (1970s) — 52

Jackson: Mack Konig (2020) — 47

Arlington: Kayla Burt (2000) — 45

Lake Stevens: Kylee Griffen (2017), Brooke Pahukoa (2012) — 42

Monroe: Suzanna Ohlsen (2011) — 40

Oak Harbor: Heidi McNeill (2005) — 40

Snohomish: Katie Benson (2008) — 38

Mount Vernon: Cheyenne Walker (2009) — 37