Class of 2025 standout forward Taliyah Henderson of Salpointe continues to expand her profile with her invitation to participate in the Canadian national team tryout on March 24-29 at Niagara College in Ontario.
Henderson, a 6-foot-1 prospect who is being recruited by Arizona and a number of other Power 5 programs, is coming off a season in which she averaged 18.9 points and 7.7 rebounds for a Lancer team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the newly-created Open Division state playoffs.
“I kind of went through a rollercoaster of emotions at first when I received the invite to the camp,” Henderson mentioned. “I was shocked, nervous, excited and so honored to even be considered for an invitation.
“Ever since I was little, it was always a goal to either run (track) or play ( basketball) for either country (Canada or U.S.) and eventually go to the Olympics. I used to talk about it with my family from Canada when we would go to visit them and it was always the end goal for me. It just seems so surreal for it to be closer to a reality than a dream now and it’s really my motivation moving forward everyday.”
Congratulations to Lancer
Taliyah Henderson ‘25 who was invited to Canada National Team Camp! #lancerlife pic.twitter.com/c7yswQXSbI— Salpointe Catholic Women's Basketball (@SalpointeB) February 27, 2023
Henderson has dual citizenship because she was born in Vancouver suburb Langley, where her mother Danica is from.
“My mom was on an amazing high school team (Brookswood) that won back-to-back championships and then she played for her Provincial team (British Columbia) and then also was invited to a similar national team camp like this one,” Henderson stated. “Her old high school coach Neil Brown (who has coached some of the top players to come out of British Columbia) and some other contacts have been reaching out over the years to let them know I was a dual citizen.”
The former Danica Boyce is married to Anthony Henderson, a Class of 2001 graduate of Salpointe. Danica and Anthony met each other while competing at Idaho State — Danica in basketball and Anthony as a linebacker in football.
If Taliyah Henderson makes the Canadian national team, she will compete in the summer of 2024 to try to qualify for World Championships held in the summer of 2025 after she graduates from Salpointe.
In addition to her basketball exploits, Taliyah has emerged as a potential world-class track athlete.
Henderson won the Division III state title as a freshman last year in the 800-meter run at the AIA State Track & Field Championships with a time of 2:21.60.
She also competed in the 400 meters and 800 meters at the prestigious Nike Outdoor Nationals in Eugene, Ore., at Hayward Stadium last July. She earned a bronze medal in the 400-meter run.
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District.
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