Yvonne Ejim is a force to be reckoned with, in and out of the country.

The 6-foot-1-inch forward has made a place for herself on the Gonzaga womens basketball team as a valuable addition to the team.

Doubling as a member of Canadas national team, the GU sophomore from Calgary, Alberta, was named to the West Coast Conference (WCC) All-Tournament Team, seeing action in multiple international tournaments.

It all started when Ejim was 7 years old. Her original exposure to basketball came from her family, but the Steve Nash camp she attended is where she found her passion.

From there, her natural abilities never went unnoticed. Ejim said coaches and parents would make suggestions as to where she could go play in close proximity to her mom, eventually snowballing into playing on the Canadian national team and at GU.

In eighth grade, Ejim was invited to a Team Canada camp. Ejim recounted how they had to make a different slideshow for her to lay out what her time on the team would be like, as she was the youngest by at least a year. Although she didnt make it, the exposure to that environment sparked that interest to go far in basketball.

Ejim continued to play volleyball and track throughout junior high and high school before committing to basketball for the abundance of opportunities presented to her.

I kept going into basketball because I knew this was the thing I wanted to do, Ejim said.

That decision to stick with basketball paid off. She made Team Canada during ninth grade and played with the team through 11th grade.

It was nerve racking, Ejim said. The first time I got that email with the invitation to the national team, I was shocked but really proud of myself for accomplishing that. That was the wow moment for me. Its the national team, its my country, and I want to continue pushing myself with [the team].

Ejim has traveled the world with Team Canada. Her first international tournament was in Argentina, and the lack of a major time difference made the adjustment to playing internationally easier. However, her favorite place has been Bangkok, Thailand, where she played three summers ago.

With Team Canada, we have to keep in mind that we are representing more than ourselves and our families, were representing our country, Ejim said. We take that pride that we have with us wherever we go to show people in other countries what Canada is about.

At GU, Ejim has made a place for herself both academically and athletically.

Studying human physiology, Ejim is just as dedicated to her career goals as she is to her athletic ones. With her natural passion for and abilities in math and science, human physiology felt like the best major to pursue to help her reach her goal of becoming a doctor.

She cited a need to give back to those in the medical field for doing so much as her motivator for pursuing a career as a doctor. Ejim is keeping an open mind for the kind of medical science she wants to pursue, but knows she will end up in the medical field.

On the court, Ejim has made herself indispensable for both her accomplishments and her addition to team morale.

She has the ability to challenge the defense with her ball skills and the way she can guard any position and any player out there, said Head Coach Lisa Fortier. We are also in a time in our world where there are a lot of different opinions on many polarizing issues. Yvonne has a strong yet very thoughtful voice, and has been a leader in our discussions since the minute she stepped on campus.

By incorporating what shes learned from playing internationally, Ejim has taken her game to the next level.

With each countrys team bringing a different set of skills, Ejim has learned how to adapt to different styles of playing and incorporate them into her own skill set.

Playing against national teams with a varying range of skillsets from Mali to Japan has taught her a lot about adjusting to respond to the other teams strengths.

I get all of these different types of players from all of these different countries that bring a different style of basketball to the court, which I really like learning to play around, Ejim said.

As a part of Team Canada, Ejim has played against Japan, Mali, Argentina, Czech Republic, Russia, USA and China, among other countries. Her favorite international team to play is France, where they are all playing professionally.

Playing against them defense wise, seeing how they move and stuff like that, Im able to replicate that into how I move offensively and use that to get better at guarding that style, Ejim said.

While COVID-19 has complicated playing internationally, Canadas bubble strategy made it easy and safe to handle the pandemic while traveling abroad. While they didnt have to wear a mask on the court, everywhere beside the court required a mask.

This season, Ejim is excited to play with a different group of girls and get back onto the court.

Ive had a lot of good experiences traveling and meeting new people because of basketball, Ejim said. That kind of stuff makes me fall in love with the game even more.

Her abilities are being noticed more and more. Racking up an impressive awards list, Ejim won Miss Basketball Alberta her junior year of high school. The award was given to the best female athlete in the province.

Last year, she was named the WCC Freshman of the Week after averaging 8.5 points per game on the road at Santa Clara and San Francisco. She was also named to the WCC All-Tournament Team.

In the future, she wants to play professionally overseas, in the WNBA and to be an Olympian.

Yvonne is our teams energizer bunny, said teammate Cierra Walker. She brings energy and competitiveness everyday. [She] can outrun anyone in transition and defend both posts and guards, and works everyday to not just make herself better but also her teammates.

With her competitive spirit and dedication to her goals, Ejim is a name to look out for in the basketball world.

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Meet the queen in the north: Yvonne Ejim continues to reign over - Bulletin