THUNDER BAY – Former Lakehead Thunderwolves standout guard Tasia McKenna has been tagged to head up the fledgling Maritime Women’s Basketball Association.
The six-team league, has teams tentatively located in Halifax and Windsor, N.S., as well as in three New Brunswick cities – Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton.
McKenna, who most recently was the technical director of Basketball Nova Scotia, starred for Lakehead between 2006 and 2011, where she was a three-time Ontario University Athletics all-star.
She said she can’t wait to get the new league rolling and help develop the women’s game in Canada even further.
“The MWBA was an idea that caught my attention early and the more we are delving into the creation and foundation of its design, it’s an exciting initiative that I wanted to be a part of right away,’ said McKenna, who hails from Timberlea, N.S., part of the Halifax Regional Municipality.
“It’s a league that will offer competitive play, promote female basketball from players to coaches to officials and minor officials and beyond. It’s something I certainly wish existed when I was playing.”
McKenna, who starred at Queen Elizabeth and Halifax West high schools before heading to Thunder Bay in 2006, is still the Thunderwolves all-time leading scorer, posting 1,341 points in 110 appearances in the white, blue and gold.
She’s second in team history with 184 three-pointers made, and second behind Jerika Baldin with 294 assists.
McKenna credits her time with the Thunderwolves for helping her understand just how passionate she was about basketball.
“I realized early at Lakehead how much the game meant to me, but I also wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to be recognized as only an athlete,’ McKenna said.
“There was so much opportunity and I wanted to take advantage of that in the classroom and on the court.”
After leaving Thunder Bay, McKenna returned to Nova Scotia, where she was an assistant coach at the Canada Summer Games and later started her own business, Crossover Basketball. She’s served time as head coach of the Halifax Grammar School’s female team and for the past six seasons has been an assistant coach with the Saint Mary’s Huskies women’s basketball team.
“Sports and basketball have opened so many avenues and although it wasn’t easy at first to step out of a certain comfort zone and become a voice, my background has made it easier,” she said.
“Basketball has been a focus in my life because it has created so many opportunities. My inner circle of family and friends are my guiding compass. They keep me grounded and are a daily reminder of what is most important in life.”
McKenna isn’t the only person with ties to Lakehead University involved with the league. Brandon Rafuse, an assistant under Thunderwolves women’s coach Jon Kreiner, is also an owner with the Halifax Thunder, one of two teams slated to play in the Nova Scotia capital.
The MWBA will be strictly for amateur players, though eligibility requirements have yet to be determined.
