Kali Peschel begins her first season as an assistant basketball coach at the College of Saint Benedict in 2016-17, but she is no stranger to the local basketball scene – or CSB.
Peschel, a Sauk Centre native, was recruited by CSB head coach Mike Durbin in her senior year at Sauk Centre. Peschel opted instead to play four years of Division I basketball at the University of Iowa, and the 2012 Sauk Centre grad helped the Hawkeyes to the Sweet 16 at the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament.
Peschel earned Academic All-Big Ten honors her sophomore through senior seasons with the Hawkeyes, and saw playing time in every game all three seasons. As a senior in 2015-16, Peschel led Iowa with a .837 free-throw percentage, and was perfect from the line in 13 games. As a junior, Peschel shot .434 from long range – the eighth-best three-point percentage in a season in Hawkeye women's basketball history. That same year, she was nominated for the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team for her community service and leadership off the court.
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Peschel finished her four-year career with 498 points and 382 rebounds for the Hawkeyes. In her prep career at Sauk Centre, she was a Miss Basketball finalist, a two-time all-state and three-time all-section selection and was named the St. Cloud Times and Sauk Valley Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior. Peschel still holds school records for points in a game (37), season (666) and career (2,037); assists in a game (12), season (163) and career (404) and steals in a season (125) and career (372). She also earned all-conference honors in volleyball and track.
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