Maya Turner’s inspirational story continues to be written, achieving another accolade being named as a 2024 Canada West All-Star, becoming the first woman to earn football all-star honours in any U Sports conference.
The University of Manitoba kicker made 12 of 16 field goal attempts in the regular season, plus both of her attempts in the playoffs, to go along with a perfect 25-for-25 in extra point tries.
Turner’s 75 per cent field goal percentage and 100 per cent extra-point percentage both ranked atop the Canada West conference. She becomes only the second kicker since 2008 to have back-to-back 75-plus field goal percentage seasons, after converting 79 per cent of her field goals last year which ranked third-best in school history.
Her longest field goal of the season was a 48-yarder that she hit on Oct. 4 against Saskatchewan, the eighth-longest in the country this season, which tied her career-high that she set last year.
“Even in the CFL, 48 yards isn’t just a chip shot; it’s not a gimme,” said University of Manitoba head coach Brian Dobie. “Maya is the real deal, and we felt that when we started to recruit her.”
Turner was recruited by the Bisons after playing NCAA Division I soccer with Loyola Chicago, before making her mark on the football field as the Bisons’ starting kicker on Sept. 23, 2023.
When she entered the game with 9:42 on the clock in the second quarter, Turner wrote history as the first woman to appear in a U Sports regular season football game before adding to her remarkable story in the moments that followed.
She nailed a 21-yard field goal through the uprights to become the first woman to score points in a U Sports football game, kicking off what was a momentous collegiate football debut, scoring nine points in the game — two field goals and three extra-points.
Her game-winning field goal in double overtime capped off a monumental start to her U Sports career, which has, and will continue to motivate girls and women across the country and around the world.
“I’m just so humbled to be able to be that person who other girls look up to,” said Turner is a news conference on Nov. 7. “It’s always been one of my goals, to not just be good at kicking for a girl, but good in the league.”
The Minnesota native now ranks seventh in Bisons’ history with 21 regular season field goals and will look to continue to climb the University of Manitoba rankings next season and help the Bisons compete for the Vanier Cup, a title they haven’t won since the 2007 season.
For more information on Maya Turner, visit gobisons.ca.