Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – As evidenced by a group photo taken with the team after she signed with the MacEwan women's basketball team earlier this month, Ayla Grady fits in perfectly with the Griffins.
Her style is a perfect match for what the team has established as its identity: gritty, tenacious basketball.
"Ayla's a tenacious, tough, feisty player," said Griffins head coach Katherine Adams. "She defends like crazy. We're really excited about what she brings at that end. I think it's going to fit in really well with our playing style."
Grady, who will kick off her U SPORTS career with the Griffins in 2024-25, is the captain of the Jasper Place Rebels, who are currently ranked sixth in the 4A provincial high school rankings.
"Jasper Place is always one of the top 4A teams in the province," said Adams. "They lost in the provincial final last year to the Raymond Comets. They currently are ranked sixth in the province and will be a contender as one of the top teams coming out of Edmonton.
"Whenever you come through a program that has that history and experience playing in competitive, meaningful games against other top teams in the province, it brings huge experience into our program that hopefully she can utilize."
Grady, who also led the Rebels to a Div. 1 city championship last season, brings a variety of skills to the guard position.
"She brings a lot to the table that we're going to be able to hopefully utilize in a lot of different ways," said Adams.
Along with being a strong defensive presence, Grady has offensive potential to not only score for the Griffins but also set the table for others.
"She's going to be a player over the course of her career that's going to cause a lot of problems at the defensive end, for sure," said Adams. "Offensively, she's proven herself. She comes from a very strong high school program with a history of a lot of great players coming through there.
"It's been really neat to see her develop over the last couple years with them and really develop into a great playmaker. I think it's one of the most underrated skills she brings to the table – something that we're going to see be very effective at the next level."
