Former resident shines during OCAA women’s basketball season
Jesse Bonello - Staff Writer
Former Sioux Lookout resident Kylie Moyer is a second-year St. Lawrence College student, and she’s coming off of a decorated season of women’s basketball at the school.
Moyer was named the OCAA (Ontario Colleges Athletic Association) East Division Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 10.3 rebounds per game while also totaling 32 steals and 16 blocks on the season. Her play also resulted in her being named an OCAA East Division First-Team All-Star.
When asked about being recognized for her play on the court, especially at the defensive end, Moyer shared that she was a bit stunned.
“I was honestly surprised, but it was a really nice feeling getting recognized for that because I just feel like I worked hard, and it was just a great feeling to have. Even in Sioux Lookout when I was playing, I always loved rebounding and rebounding is one of the main things when you’re playing basketball, so I’m just glad that I was able to be recognized for that because it was a great feeling,” she explained.
Moyer lived in Sioux Lookout up until the end of her grade 11 year at Queen Elizabeth District High School. She then moved to Prince Edward County (approximately 30 minutes south of Belleville, Ontario) to finish off her high school education at Prince Edward Collegiate Institute.
Moyers’ love of sports stemmed from her time in Sioux Lookout, and has continued since.
“I played on most of the sports teams there, and grew up with pretty much the same friend group all the way through and played sports with the majority of the same people,” she said.
“Playing with the same group of girls, basically, for all sports it gets you working hard all the time. It helped me to develop a passion for sports because, in Sioux Lookout, that’s all I did was play sports in school. It was a big part of my life and it’s always remained a big part of my life,” she continued.
Moyer explained that, looking back, she would’ve never imagined that she would end up where she is now. She shared that basketball, initially, wasn’t her go-to sport.
“If someone would’ve said to me where I’d be right now, before I left Sioux Lookout, I would say no way, there’s not a chance of that. I was a volleyball player before I moved. That was my sport and then I moved and basketball was bigger down here, so I started playing basketball and learned to love it. I didn’t really like basketball to begin with, but I learned to love it and it’s a great sport. If someone told me this is where I’d be, I would not expect it at all,” she shared.
Moving forward, Moyer is looking to earn her education at St. Lawrence College, where she’s hoping it will guide her to a career of working with kids.
“I’m taking the Honours Bachelor of Behavioural Psychology program. It’s actually a degree program within the college, so it’s a four year program… There are many opportunities with the degree. Probably working with kids is my end goal,” she concluded.