Langley’s Lainey Shelvey will play for the NCAA’s Simon Fraser University (SFU) in 2022.
SFU women’s basketball coach Bruce Langford announced the signing on Nov. 12, welcoming Shelvey to Burnaby Mountain.
“Lainey has great quickness and good perimeter skills, including a nice shooting touch,” said Langford.
“The test always is when club teams go south to play Americans. Over the last few years, she has passed that test well. She has a wonderful personality with a beaming smile always.”
READ ALSO: Lightning strike down Stars for Langley title
Shelvey said she chose Simon Fraser University “because it is close to home and I still get to compete in the United States at an NCAA level.”
In 2018, Shelvey led the Lightning with 17 points as Langley Christian School (LCS) defeated the Archbishop Carney Stars 47-32 in the Grade 8 girls district championship final.
When Shelvey was named MVP of the Fraser Valley championships after the Lightning took the title the same year, her coach, Danielle Gardner called her “a great athlete who is just starting to come into her own as a basketball player. She has a bright future ahead of her in terms of what she can accomplish.”
READ ALSO: Top-ranked Lightning strike for Valley title
Shelvey has helped the Langley Christian senior girls’ program to two BC high school AA provincial championship podium finishes so far in her career.
As a Grade 10 star in 2020, she was named to the championship tournament’s Second All-Star Team.
Shelvey averaged 16.5 points a game over four contests, as LCS placed second in the province.
Her 2019 season ended with a bronze medal, a run that saw the Grade 9 player post 35 points over four games.
In both years, Shelvey played with current SFU guard Makenna Gardner, and the pair will be reunited next fall.
In March, she was named by the BC Secondary Schools Girls Basketball Association as one of the province’s top Double-A tier players to watch for the upcoming high school campaign.
Howard Tsumura’s Varsity Letters website described her as “a terrific on-ball defender with a penchant to finish around the rim.”
Shelvey’s club team is VK Basketball.
Have a story tip? Email: dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.