She’s a game changer.
She’s also the Most Valuable Player.
MacKenzie Smith from the regular season champion Lake City 56ers has been named the Maritime Women’s Basketball Association’s MVP after a stellar season with the Dartmouth/Cole Harbour-based squad.
She was also named a first team all-star.
Smith, out of Shelburne, NS, will bring her skillset to Fredericton this weekend, participating in the four-team PRO•LINE Legacy Cup championship at the Richard J. Currie Center.
The 56ers open tournament play Saturday night against hometown Fredericton Freeze in a game that features a solid rivalry between the two squads dating back to last season.
Game time is 5 p.m,
Miramichi Her-Icanes battle Halifax Thunder in the second semifinal at 7:30 p.m.
Smith tied for the lead in league scoring, averaging 18.4 points per game with Miramichi’s Lauren Rainford, who was named MVP last season.
She joins Rainford and former players Kaylee Kilpatrick of Saint John’s Port City Fog and Haley McDonald of Halifax Thunder as league MVPs.
All seven teams nominated three players for the MVP and all-star voting.
Teams could not vote for their own players.
The system used a weighted 1 through 10 approach for tabulating votes.
Smith, who starred with Philadelphia’s St. Joseph University Hawks during a stellar four year National Collegiate Athletic Association career, earned three first place votes and finished with 52 points to earn the nod.
Rainford had one first place vote and was a close second with 48 points in a bid to earn back-to-back MVP honours.
Bailey Russell of the Fredericton Freeze had a first place vote and was third with 46 points.
Smith’s Lake City teammate Courtney Donaldson had a first place vote and tied with Rainford’s Miramichi teammate Grace Lancaster with 40 points apiece. Lancaster also drew one first place vote to round out the top five.
All eyes will be on Fredericton this weekend for the big dance.
With the semifinals set for Saturday, the winners move to Sunday’s 3 p.m. final. The consolation game goes at 12:30 p.m.
The weekend is a celebration of women in sport.
Joining the four MWBA teams are teams from Basketball New Brunswick, Basketball Nova Scotia and Basketball Prince Edward Island at the under-17 and under-15 levels.
Teams will practice and play at the RJCC and Fredericton High School.
All three provincial under-17 teams are preparing for the Canada Summer Games in St. John’s, NL.
Tickets for the PROLINE Legacy Cup are on sale now at goredsgo.ca or available at the RJCC box office, starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
They are $30 adults for a weekend pass of four games and $25 for seniors and students. Single day passes are $15 and $12.
There are no single game tickets available.
Children 14 and under will be admitted free.
– MacKenzie Smith was named MWBA MVP. (DWinston Photo)