VANCOUVER – Putting up one of the most dominant first-year performances in program history, UBC guard
Keira Daly has been named the 2024-25 Canada West Women's Basketball Rookie of the Year.
It took no time at all for the Hamilton, Ontario product to establish herself as not only one of the top rookies in the Canada West, but one of the most impactful players across the conference.
Finishing second in team scoring with 269 points in the regular season, Daly was seventh in conference points-per-game with 15.8 and second in points-per-40 minutes played with 26, all on the strength of an impressive 44.2 percent from the field.
She has elevated her game even further in the playoffs, leading all players on the court with 22 points in UBC's semifinal win over the Alberta Pandas, pushing the T-Birds to their first Canada West Final appearance in 10 years.
"It's an incredible honour and milestone for somebody just beginning her career," said UBC head coach, Isabel Ormond. "I'm not surprised, she's put in a ton of work and came in incredibly ready to go to compete at this level and you've seen that in her play across the year. She missed three games but she's still sitting amongst not just first years in Canada West but amongst the league leaders, period. I think that says a lot about who she is and who she'll keep growing into as well."
Daly becomes just the third Thunderbird to win the conference Rookie of the Year award and the first since Cait Haggarty was honoured in 2003-04.
"As much as these are individual awards, you can't have them if you don't have the teammates," Ormond continued. "We had the teammates to have this first year come in and support her and what she can do. That's the culture we want with our players as well so I think that's a great testament to us as a team."
Daly and the 'Birds battle the Saskatchewan Huskies Saturday afternoon for the 2024-25 Canada West crown. Tipoff in Saskatoon is set for 3:00 p.m. PT with UBC searching for their first conference title since 2015.
