Megan Burns added a college scholarship to her fine senior season.
The St. Peter’s guard has verbally committed to play basketball at Concordia College. She will join former St. John Villa players Chelsea Castelli and Katie Nikosey, August Martin’s Krystina Agard and Christ the King’s Tara Rock at the Division II school.
“When I went up there it was a small campus,” Burns said. “It wasn’t too far from home and coach John [DeSio] seemed like a very nice coach. I just felt like that was the right school to go to.”
DeSio visited one of St. Peter’s practices in early October and immediately took a liking to Burns. He invited her and her family to visit the Westchester school. She took an overnight visit later, got to watch the team play and felt right at home.
“I was nervous, but then when I knew that Katie was there and Chelsea, I knew that it would be a lot better,” Burns said.
The sharpshooting guard waited her turn and has now emerged as one of the Eagles’ most consistent players. Burns, who wants to study to be a teacher and focus on special education, is averaging 9.14 points per game and provides a deadly outside shooter. She is strong with a ball in her hands and gets the most out of her 5-foot-6 frame when rebounding.
Her finest game came when her team needed her most. Burns scored 13 of her career-high 22 points in the fourth quarter, grabbed 11 rebounds and hit 9-of-10 free throws to propel St. Peter’s to an important 67-60 win over Moore Catholic on Jan. 22. It helped the Eagles, ranked No. 5 in the city by The Post, earn a tiebreaker with their rival and a chance to win their 16th consecutive CHSAA Staten Island title. She followed that up with a 16-point performance in a win over John F. Kennedy (N.J.) at the PSAL/John F. Kennedy Challenge.
When her career at the all-girls Staten Island school is over Burns will join a team that is currently 6-19 overall and 4-13 in the CACC (Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference). She feels her and the other recruits coming in can help get things turned around. For now her focus is on putting the best finish on her high school career, but she is happy to know where she will be suiting up next season.
“I don’t have to worry about when the season is over where I will be going,” Burns said. “I know that when I am done at St. Peter’s I know that it will continue on at Concordia.”