2025 Provincial Team Coaches

Haley McDonald is joining us from Canning, Nova Scotia. She played her high school career at Horton High School capturing a D1 Provincial title in 2016.  Over her youth career she represented BNS on 5 different occasions, both at the U15 and U17 National Championships. Haley played at Acadia University from 2016 - 2021, and again in 2022-2023.  During her time with Acadia University, she captured 2 AUS Championships, she was an AUS MVP, multi-time Atlantic University Sport (AUS) All-Star and All-Canadian. During her final season with the Axewomen, she was awarded by the AUS the James Bayer Memorial Scholarship for her contributions to Athletics, Academics, Leadership, Sportsmanship, and Citizenship.  Most recently, she was recognized as a TOP 8 USports Academic All-Canadian and Governor General medal winner.Haley's coaching career started as an assistant coach with the U17 girls' provincial team during the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently, as a head coach, she led the Horton High School D1 Girls team to a silver medal finish in the SSNS provincials in 2022. That summer Haley was the assistant coach for the BNS U15 girls provincial team, and helped them achieve a National Silver Medal. Currently, she is the full-time lead assistant coach with the Acadia Axewomen and the Director of AXE Basketball, a minor club in the Annapolis Valley that gives athletes aged U8 to U16 opportunities to play locally and provincially."I am so excited to be part of the BNS family in a head coaching capacity. Over the year, I have been working to further my own coaching skills and I'm happy to see my commitment paying off. My coaching philosophy is grounded in competition, accountability, and fun. I hope to provide the athletes with a strong, confident female role model that will push them to a higher standard. I believe our small province is capable of making big waves nationally and I cannot wait to get started."

Maia Timmons is entering her third year as an assistant coach with the MSVU women’s basketball team and brings a wealth of experience from both her playing and coaching career. As a former player in the Basketball Nova Scotia (BNS) system, Maia competed in four National Championships before moving on to play at the University of Ottawa, where she graduated in 2021. Since then, Maia has dedicated herself to coaching, serving as an assistant coach for BNS's U16 girls in 2023 and most recently helping the U15 girls team compete at the National Championships in Saint John’s, Newfoundland. This season, Maia will also be completing her second and final year in the CCAA Female Coaching Mentorship Program, continuing her commitment to the development of young athletes.  

Laura has been coaching basketball for the last nine years. Growing up in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia she played for Auburn Drive High School, and went on to play for Acadia University. She has been fortunate enough to live in multiple provinces across the country allowing her to coach Junior High Boys, Junior High Girls, High School Boys and High School Girls. At a club level, she has been coaching u10-u14 boys for the last seven years. Most recently she was the assistant coach for the 2024 u17 BNS Female team. Currently she is the assistant coach for the senior high female team at Armbrae Academy, and head coach for the junior high boys at Astral Drive Elementary. Beyond coaching, Laura enjoys spending her time with her husband and two sons, usually playing basketball. She was a 911 operator and dispatcher for 10 years, recently making a switch to the Emergency Management Office with Halifax Regional Municipality.