BRANDON – The sports spotlight has long shone brightly on Carla Maxwell's family and the Truro, N.S. product believes a strong athletic upbringing helped point her in the right direction.

"Sports taught me about life. Those are the values that my dad, mom and community taught me. Family is and always will be the core of the things that really matter to me."

Carla's father, the late Stan 'Chook' Maxwell, was a pioneer, as he became one of the first black professional hockey players. Maxwell was a three-time scoring champion in the International Hockey League and attended Boston Bruins' training camp in 1957.

Her father also excelled in baseball and was offered a contract by the Milwaukee Braves, but he turned down the opportunity to pursue his dream of playing pro hockey.

"My father was well known, especially back in those days and you would have never known it. He was extremely humble and I always admired him for that."

Carla carved out a legendary career of her own with the Cobequid Educational Centre Cougars. In 1980-81, Maxwell and her team left a lasting legacy at the high school. That season the team captured a provincial championship while posting an overall record of 41-and-3.

Maxwell won multiple all-star awards from 1979-82 and led the team in scoring in her senior year. All totaled, she helped CEC capture three consecutive Nova Scotia championships. For her efforts, she was inducted into the school's Wall of Fame in December 2016.

"It is a wonderful honour for me. For me, basketball has always been about family and teamwork, so I have always been very close to my teammates and coaches. They have all had a huge impact on my life."

The path to becoming a Bobcat ran through a Nova Scotia recruiting connection. It started with former all-Canadian Janet Lumsden joining BU after coming to the Wheat City for the 1979 Canada Winter Games. Maxwell followed suit along with Laurie Wilson and Jennifer Thomson (nee Saxton).

Maxwell's longtime mentor and high school coach Keith MacKenzie guided Nova Scotia to a bronze medal in Brandon at the Winter Games in 1979

"I was always curious about the world and I just thought it would be interesting to try something different. I think that it is just a part of my personality because I have a curiosity for life, even though I was going far from home."

Maxwell's impact with the Bobcats was immediate in 1982-83. Brandon toured the East Coast and Maxwell led the team in scoring in two of their first four exhibition games. That season, BU also played pre-season contests on the West Coast, where Maxwell poured in 21 points in a game against the defending national champions the Victoria Vikes.

"It gave me an opportunity to travel and see the rest of Canada and it was the best decision that I made for many reasons. Brandon was a wonderful experience and I have no regrets."

In her freshman season, Carla was a first-team Great Plains Athletic Conference all-star and was co-winner of the team's rookie of the year award.  She finished among the top-10 in GPAC scoring with 12.9 points per-game.

"For me it was never about being an all-star. My goal was always about the team and winning together, it was never about individual accolades."

Maxwell played a major role in the Bobcats' success in her two seasons with BU from 1982-1984. Brandon finished with solid 10-and-6 and 12-and-4 records while under the guidance of coach and Wall of Famer Bill Moody.

 "It starts from the top and Bill had a winning attitude. A lot of the players that he recruited had the same aspirations. They were all willing to work hard and it brought us all together. Right away I had an instant connection with the team."

And that instant connection has never wavered.

Maxwell has stepped away from basketball completely and for the last 25 years has worked with the federal government in Toronto. She still keeps in touch with former teammates, including those who made the trek from Nova Scotia to Brandon to become Bobcats.

Carla and Jennifer Thomson (nee Saxton) played against each other in elementary school and later became teammates at CEC, where they reached the pinnacle of high school sports by winning a provincial championship together. Thomson stayed in the Wheat City and became a physical education teacher in the Brandon School Division.

Maxwell's memories are more about the long-lasting relationships then the results on the court.

"Basketball has been so much more to me then just a game, it was life. You had to get along well with others, sometimes you did not always agree, but you still had to come together for a common goal and we did that."

"That is why I think sports has been so important to me because those people are ones that I have had friendships with for years. I made some great friends and worked with a lot of great people at Brandon University."