Lavallee successfully balanced athletics and academics, with her classes always her No.1 priority. Lavallee was a successful two-college student, enrolled in the College of Kinesiology’s combined education program. Her dedication to her studies was reinforced in her third year when Lisa Thomaidis took over as the Huskie women’s basketball coach and encouraged her to focus on her studies first.
“Balancing both was challenging but when you’re that passionate and dedicated to something you find a way to make it all work,” said Lavallee. “I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t always the best student but when Lisa took over the program in my third year, she really challenged me to focus more on my academics. I was determined to prove that I could do both at a high level. I also can’t answer this question without acknowledging the tremendous amount of support that I had throughout my career and my family that helped me get through it all.”
As Lavallee took care of her academics off the court, she was also able to excel on the court in her final year. As a senior, she had an incredible season, finishing second in Canada West scoring and ranked third nationally. As a result of her efforts, Lavallee received the Tom Longboat Award in 2000, recognizing outstanding Indigenous ability. She was also awarded the National Sylvia Sweeney award in 2002 and named a national Top 8 Academic All-Canadian.
In addition to a great career with the Huskies, Lavallee had the opportunity to play internationally for Canada in three tournaments and twice at the World University Games in 1999 and 2001. She also was a member of the Canadian national women’s basketball team from 2002-04.
After graduation, Lavallee took her two degrees and began teaching. She is currently the school counsellor at Oskāyak High School in Saskatoon and remains a part of the Huskies women’s basketball program as a long-time assistant coach for Thomaidis.
“Coaching was a natural transition for me as I was always a student of the game,” Lavallee said. “As a point guard and centre midfielder, you are forced to look at the game differently. There is so much strategy and tactics involved in basketball, which is a huge draw for me.”