'I hope to inspire other people': Islander heading to play NCAA Division I basketball next year

A high school basketball player from P.E.I. is going to take her game, and hopefully her athletic career, to a whole new level when she heads to university next year.

Alex Newson recently committed to study at the State University of New York at Albany, where she’ll be playing with the Albany Great Danes. 

When she steps onto the court with the team, Newson will be making history: She is believed to be the first-ever basketball player from P.E.I. to play NCAA Division I basketball.

“It’s great, honestly, I think it’s like, even better being from like a small province. I hope to inspire other people, especially girls that play basketball. I think it’s growing a lot in the province," Newson told Mainstreet P.E.I. host Steve Bruce.

Newson said she started playing basketball when she was just five years old.

And this won’t be the first time she has made a big move in pursuit of her basketball career. Newson moved to Ontario before starting grade 11 at King’s Christian Collegiate, where she could play basketball year-round in one of the best leagues in the country, she said. 

“We play against other great Division I players, national team players and we get to travel to the states a lot, just to get showcased and recruited,” she said. 

After making that move and starting the season with her new team in Ontario, Newson realized she could set her sights even higher and make her dream of taking her basketball career to the next level a reality.

“That kind of just became my dream, just my, kind of, goal for the next two years trying to make it there, and I think the more and more I improved I was like, okay — this can happen now,” she said. 

Earlier this year, Newson represented Team P.E.I. as the province’s flag bearer at the