Kayla Gordon's first season of university basketball officially ended Feb. 15 – and what a season it was.
Playing forward for the Trinity Western University Spartans in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, Gordon picked up where she left off in her Prince George high school career with the Cedars Christian Eagles.
Averaging 23.9 minutes while playing all 22 games for TRU, Gordon finished fourth in team scoring with 6.9 points per game. She was third among Spartans in rebounding with 4.4 per game and made the Canada West All-Rookie team.
As a CIS standout, Gordon has earned the right to play for the B.C. Selects against the Japanese under-18 national team in a three-game exhibition series which started Wednesday night in Langley. Gordon and her Spartan teammate Chantelle Martin of Surrey both made the team.
"For Kayla, having this type of experience this early in her career provides her a look at what it takes to play at an elite level," said Spartans head coach Cheryl Jean-Paul, in a Spartans team release. "I think she'll learn a lot from this experience and that'll bode well for our program moving forward.
"I think this is a great opportunity for both of them to be able to play with some of the top local university athletes. For Kayla and Chantelle to be among that group is a big step for both of them as individuals but also for us as a program. The experience of playing at this level and getting some national team competition will be great for them and certainly will help us as a team down the road."
Gordon played in the 2013 B.C. high school all-star game after helping the Eagles to a third-consecutive provincial silver medal. She also has national championships experience, having led B.C. to a bronze-medal finish in 2012.
Game 2 of the series is set for tonight at Langley Events Centre with a third game to follow Friday night at UBC's War Memorial Gym. The Japanese team is tuning up for the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, Sept. 19-Oct. 4.
