2024 Award Recipients
Alberta Shooting Stars
2024 Award Recipients
2024 Rising Star Award
Brinley Walker, Red Deer Lake School
Brinley was born into the game and started her career at the age of 5. She has already had a myriad of outstanding basketball experiences. What makes her special is her work ethic and the passion she plays with. This past season she played on 3 teams, and participated in individual training and strength and conditioning sessions. Her coach says that she is the first person to help a teammate up, and make things better.
Achievements include:
- Played on CMBA teams since she was 8
- Helped her Red Deer Lake team to 3 consecutive zone championships
- Played on the Calgary Zone team that won gold in the Alberta Summer Games
- Played with the Northern Lights club team that competed in Phoenix, Sacramento, Seattle and Las Vegas
2024 Jr. High Player of the Year Award
Sadie Secord, Midsun School
Sadie has a drive to develop her game not only in practices and puts in a great deal of time on her own through strength training, conditioning or individual skill development. She is always seeking ways to get better and brings tenacity, passion and competitiveness to the court.
Achievements include:
- Competed in the MADE Hoops circuit the past two years, playing some of the best teams in the U.S.A
- She led her Midsun school team to a Divisional Championship last year
- She started on her schools senior boys team that finished third in the league
- Sadie played on the Calgary Zone team that won Gold at the Alberta Summer Games
- A two time Shooting Stars all-star, she led her team in the Showcase with 22 points
- At the Showcase she won the 3 point contest and was named team MVP
- Sadie has earned numerous all-star and MVP awards in school and club tournaments
2024 Jr. High Player of the Year Award
Addison Yee, Red Deer Lake School
Addison brings passion, determination and leadership to the game. She has achieved great individual success but also lifts and inspires her teammates. She has a true love for the game that makes her a joy to watch on the court.
Achievements include:
- Earned back to back CMBA City Championships, going undefeated
- Her Red Deer Lake team won their League and Zone Championship the past 2 years, going undefeated
- Addison played on the Calgary Zone team and won the gold medal at the Alberta Summer Games
- Won gold in 5 of 6 tournaments with her club team, FYB
- She played in the MADE Hoops West Coast circuit in the U.S.A
- Has earned numerous all-star and MVP awards in school and club tournaments
- A two time Shooting Stars all-star, she led her team in scoring at the Showcase with 23 points and was named game MVP
2024 JV Player of the Year Award
Payton Richelhof, W.H. Croxford School
Payton is an outstanding athlete who excels in a number of sports. She comes from an athletic family and will make her own mark in any sport she chooses.
Achievements include:
- Sees the floor well and is unselfish when distributing the ball
- Played point guard for the first time this season
- Dominates the boards on defense
- Happy to have more assists than points
- Helped lead her team to an undefeated Rocky View league season and win the Rocky View Championship
2024 "1A" Rookie of the Year
Devyn Rasmuson, Bawlf School
Devyn is a dedicated player with a true love for the game. One of her coaches said about her, "she is an enthusiastic and coachable young player who exhibits a great attitude and tremendous work ethic".
Achievements include:
- Helped lead her team to a 4th place finish at Provincials
- MVP at Provincials
- All-Star in the Camrose tournament
- Averaged 21 points, 15 rebounds and 5.5 blocked shots
- She is 5'9 but has a 6'1 wing span which was helpful when defending taller opponents
- She was the scoring, rebounding and blocked shot leader for her team as a grade 10 player
2024 "2A" Rookie of the Year
Charlie Adolphe, Rundle College
Charlie has grown up with the game, as her mom is a high school coach. She is a student of the game and is passionate about improving. She was unable to participate in this years Showcase as she is playing in a prestigious tournament in Denver, Colorado.
Achievements include:
- She helped her team to a spot in 2A Provincials
- All-star at the Edmonton Elevate tournament
- Played on the U18 Alberta Indigenous team last summer
- Averaged 25 points per game at Provincials, including 19 3's
- On the season, she scored 335 points including 73 made 3's.
- Played in the CISSA all-star game and scored 20 points, including 6 3's and was named MVP
2024 "3A" Rookie of the Year
Miya Hansen, Strathmore High School
Miya had a spectacular season on a strong team. Her coach indicated that she is a level headed player always striving for her best, that she is a great teammate, and a ballhawk that persues rebounds with relentless desire.
Achievements include:
- Helpd her team to a South Central Zone Championship
- 2 golds and 2 silvers at invitational tournaments
- Instrumental in helping her team to win the 3A Provincial Championship
- Averaged 10 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.6 deflections per game
- In her last 13 games, she averaged 15.2 points.
2024 "4A" Rookie of the Year
Amanda Guss, Western Canada High School
Amanda was an immediate impact on the 4A basketball scene by making a huge contribution as a rookie. While she is a talented offensive player, she focuses on the team with a pass first mentality. An outstanding student, she is in French Immersion with a 90% average including IB courses.
Achievements include:
- Helped her team go undefeated in league play and won the Calgary city championships
- Finished in 2nd at Provincials
- Has earned numerous all-star awards and MVP's in school and club tournaments
- Has been a member of the U15 Alberta team for the past two years where she was named an all-star at the National Championship
2024 Grade 11 "A" Player of the Year
Taylor Boettcher, Eckville High School
Taylor is a multi-talented player who helps her team in numerous ways. She is tough to stop offensively and is relentless on the boards and defense. Her coach says of her "Taylor is a big game player and always stepped up when needed".
Achievements include:
- Helping lead her team to their first Provincial tournament in many years
- In 2 Provincial games, she had 59 points, 49 rebounds and 11 blocks
- On the season, she averaged 21 points, 17 rebounds and 5 blocked shots - despite constantly facing being double and triple teamed when she had the ball
- She recorded 2 triple - doubles
- She was the "A" Rookie of the Year award recipient at the Shooting Stars Showcase in 2023
2024 Grade 11 "2A" Player of the Year
Hayden Van't Land, Immanuel Christian
Hayden is a dedicated player with a true love for the game. She is an outstanding player and teammate who is always looking to grow her basketball IQ. Her coach said of her, "she was always encouraging to teammates". She wreaks havoc on opposing teams defense and can score from anywhere on the court.
Achievements include:
- Helped lead her team to a 2A South Zone Championship and the 2A Provincial Championship
- This season she averaged 22 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals per game
- She earned numerous all-star and MVP tournament awards
2024 Grade 11 "3A" Player of the Year
Kira Airey, West Island College
Kira is a talented, hard working athlete who is one of Canada's top young players. Her coach said of her "She is a selfless player that finds great joy in celebrating the accomplishments of others and loves to help her teammates success in their own personal goals".
Achievements include:
- She helped her team to a divsional championship and first appearance in Provincials in many years
- Has been a member of the CBA program since she was in grade 6
- Has played on team Alberta for the last 2 years and named National All-Star both years
- Participated in the Basketball Canada U16 National Assessment camp
- Third consecutive Shooting Stars award
2024 Grade 11 "4A" Player of the Year
Amelia Roberts, Lindsay Thurber
Amelia is a hard working and relentless player who dominates the boards. Her coach calls her a fierce competitor who works hard to improve her game, and she challenges her teammates at practice everyday.
Achievements include:
- An amazing ability to rebound the ball offensively and defensively
- Dominates inside and she is starting to develop her perimeter game
- Helped her team to a 4A Central Zone championship and a berth in Provincials
2024 "1A" Player of the Year
Paisley Sillito, Stirling School
Paisley is a dedicated player with a love for the game. A true point guard, she has dominated the 1A basketball scene the last 3 years. She helped her team to unprecedented success in the past 3 seasons, as team captain for the past 2 years she was a great leader and helped mentor younger players. Her coach said "the work that she has put into her game outside of team practices has been instrumental in her success".
Achievements include:
- Helping lead her team to win 3 consecutive South Zone Championships
- At "A" provincials, her team has won a bronze, silver and gold medal
- She averages 20 points per game and is difficult to defend
- In one game, she exploded and scored 53 points
2024 "2A" Player of the Year
Halle Aleman, Immanuel Christian
Halle has a high basketball IQ and outstanding court vision. Her coach said about her "she treats everyone with the utmost respect whether it is her teammates or her opponents. She leads with joy and humility".
Achievements include:
- Being a dynamic offensive threat, she can score in a number of ways
- She averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks per game
- She was a lockdown defender who was assigned to guard the best player on the opposing team
- Dominiating the boards and always looking to push the ball
2024 "3A" Player of the Year
Tessa Galandy, Strathmore High School
Tessa is a talented athlete who has earned her 2nd consecutive 3A player of the year award after a dominant season. She is a levelo headed player who helps to keep her team calm and is also an outstanding ringette player, and is undecided on which sport she will persue.
Achievements include:
- Being an outstanding ball handler, she is almost impossible to press
- She works hard on defense and is a tough player when she goes to the hoop
- Was instrumental in her team earning 2 South Central Zone and 2 3A Provincial Championships
- She averaged 20.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.7 steals, 5.1 deflections and 4.1 assists this season
- At Zones and Provincials, she averaged 24.3 points per game
- In her career, her team was 61-8 against other 3A teams
2024 "4A" Player of the Year
Natalie Allison, Western Canada High School
Natalie is an all-round offensive and defensive player who takes her game very seriously. She is a 3 year IB honour roll student. Her coach said "that he has never seen a player so respected by teammates". She will be missed by coaches and teammates as she leaves to play for the University of Victoria Vikes.
Achievements include:
- Team captain on her JV team in grade 10. Their season went 31-0 and won the City Championship
- In Grade 11 and 12 she helped her team go undefeated in league and win the City Championship
- 2nd place finish at 4A Provincials
- Was key to her team winning several tournaments and she has earned several all-star and MVP awards
2024 Miss Basketball Alberta Award
Delaney Gibb, Raymond High School
Congratulations to Delaney on her record breaking third consecutive Miss Basketball Alberta award. She will be suiting up next year for the BYU Cougars.
More information on her season and career to be added later.
2024 Miss Basketball Alberta Award
Mishynn Miller, Lethbridge Collegiate Institute
Mishynn joins a prestigious group of Ms. Basketball Alberta winners. She has a great love, passion, and dedication for the game. She is incredibly well-rounded as a player and person. She embodies everything that this award represents. This award is emblematic of being considered the top high school player in Alberta. She is the youngest player to ever be named Miss Basketball Alberta. Mishynn has options to play post secondary volleyball or basketball and has decided to take her talents in 2025 to the University of Calgary basketball program.
Achievements include:
- Having just turned 16, this talented 6'2 grade 11 is an intimidating forced on both ends of the court where she dominates in both scoring and rebounding
- She logs 37 minutes of playing time each night, and scored an average of 25.1 points per game. She also recorded a double-double in every game she played this year
- Mishynn averaged an incredible 18.5 rebounds per game and contributed 2.5 assists, 3.9 steals and 2.1 blocks with a high of 28 rebounds in a single game
- Undeterred by double and triple teams, she stood tall as an indominable force and was a relentless competitor
- She helped lead her team to a 22-8 record with tournament victories at Medicine Hat and Western, she was named the tournament MVP at Western
- She scored 30 points and snagged 25 rebounds helping her team to a bronze medal at 4A Provincials
- Mishynn is a dual sport athlete who has won multiple tournament all-star and MVP awards
- She was voted a first team all-star in the South Zone in grade 10 and 11
- She is in the French Immersion program and on the honour roll with a 90% average
- We are excited to see how she develops in her grade 12 year, and this is her 3rd year winning a Major Shooting Stars Award
2024 Rozdeba Resilience Award
Tyla Hammermaster, Sexsmith Secondary
This is our 3rd year giving out this award, dedicated to the memory of Medicine Hat coach, Dave Rozdeba. Tyla is truly a special young lady, she is a tenacious athlete who does not know how to quit. Her drive and determination set her apart, but it is also what attracts others to want to play with her or coach her.
Living in Sexsmith, life as a basketball player is a challenge. It often means long drives to games and driving through the night to attend camps in Calgary and Edmonton with homework and sleep being done in the vehicle. She has persevered through a great deal of adversity and her resilience is the embodiment of what this award stands for. With her dedication and drive, look for her to reach all of her goals.
Achievements include:
- In grade 10 and 11 she practiced 5 days a week with both her girls team and with the senior boys. This made her tougher and stronger
- Played on the U20 Alberta North Team that competed in the Wood Buffalo Arctic Winter Games. She suffered a serious ankle sprain but she persevered and her team went 6-0 and won gold.
- At Zones, she suffered a knee injury that put her out of the game and required multiple trips to Edmonton for physio and an MRI.
- Her hard work and perseverance brought her back onto the court
- She was motivated by a club team trip to the Czech Republic to participate in the International Sports Festival
- She helped lead her team to a 29-4 record and winning 4 invitational tournaments with a game high of 32 points
- Led her team to league and Zone championships with a 4th place finish at 2A zones
2024 Harle Heart Award
McKinley Penninga, Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School
The Harle Heart Award is named after Shawnee Harle, the former U of C Dinos coach and Olympic team assistant coach. She was our guest speaker at the very first Showcase, 31 years ago and an ardent supporter of our event ever since.
This years recipient is very deserving having showed a great deal of HEART in overcoming incredible adversity. McKinley is a tremendous basketball player but there is so much more to her story. She is a true inspiration and she embodies what this award represents.
In the past 10 years, she has been diagnosed with 3 different diseases and other disorders/syndromes. They affect her every day but very few would see the full effects.
She is dealing with three very serious health conditions, the first being Psoriatic Athritis which is an inflammatory disease that attacks her joints - she was diagnosed with this when she was 9 years old.
The second disease is Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, a rare immunological disorder that causes her body to have reactions to almost everything. One of the side effects is low bone density at a young age, in which she broke her arm/wrist 6 times before the age of 12.
The third disease is Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome which is a neurological disorder that results in a dysfunction of her automatic nervous system.
In dealing with these disorders, she must ingest 33 pills each day and take a myriad of supplements. She must follow many protocols and safeguards to keep herself healthy.
She is often at Stollery Children's Hospital or the Alberta Children's Hosptial and is followed by a team of 13 different specialists. Her experieneces have motivated her to work as a medical assistant at a clinic in Red Deer. No surprise that she will pursue a degree in Kinesology and looks to do a Masters in Athletic Therapy or Sports Medicine.
Her experiences have inspired her to try and make a positive impact. She was selected to serve on the Child and Youth Advisory Council at the Alberta Children's Hospital from 2019-2023 where she had an active role in developing protocols for the betterment of young patients.
None of this adversity deterred her from her love of basketball. She has had an outstanding high school basketball career. She has an extremely busy high school and club season, but it did not stop her and she never uses it as an excuse. She does not want sympathy, but wants understanding.
She loves sports. She pushes through pain, fractures, injuries and active disease just to keep playing and she wants nothing more than to be "normal" and to play the game that she loves.
Her high school coach said of her " She has been a fantastic leader for our program. She is unbelievably supportive of her teammates. She is genuinely one of the kindest people you will ever meet. Even when her health kept her off the court, she was at every practice and game."
She has received academic honours in all 3 grades. Her parents have indicated that they are more proud of her character and faith then they are of anything on the court or in the classroom. Parents, Lisa and Marty do not take for granted one moment that they are able to see her and her siblings play. They remember all the years of broken hearts and broken bodies to get to this point.
McKinley is an incredible young lady that will continue to inspire. We look forward to seeing her play next year as she suits up for the University of Alberta Pandas.
