El Ouali transfers to BU women’s hoops

Aya El Ouali is joining the Brandon University Bobcats at a good time.

The Dawson College guard is making the jump to U Sports from CEGEP as one of the best shooters in Bobcats women’s basketball history, Piper Ingalls, moves on.

El Ouali joins Sanford Collegiate star Halle Penner in the rookie class.

“She can shoot it with range, handle the ball really well and play out of the pick and roll. Obviously we lost some shooting with some of the departures we had in Cali Yates and Piper Ingalls, so she fills that gap for us,” said Bobcats head coach Ilarion Bonhomme.

“She’s an ultimate competitor, really fired up about winning, understands trying to win possession by possession … She can grow into a leader for our program as the years go on.”

Bonhomme connected with the five-foot-six guard in a familiar way for BU basketball, but not necessarily the women’s program. Former BU men’s guard Mikee Dosado, who was coaching with Vanier College in Montreal, spotted the talented lefty and let her know about the opportunity to join a team that just broke a long playoff drought.

For the most part, BU’s improvement from two wins in 2024-25 to a 7-13 record last season was due to improved offence. Bonhomme sees El Ouali as a key player on both ends who can help a team that allowed a conference-high 81.7 points per game.

“She’s going to defend 94 feet, super aggressive, she’s a competitor on defence, can guard the ball, works hard to get through screens,” Bonhomme said.

“I think she’s going to do good, getting deflections, getting steals for us, she’s going to do a lot of good things for us on the defensive end.”

The Bobcats took a big hit a few weeks ago when Australian Ella Averill transferred to Fordham University in the NCAA Division I ranks.

They’ll hope El Ouali’s big-game experience helps keep the program rolling. She got to compete at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national championship as Dawson hosted the tournament in March.

She recorded five points, four assists and three steals in a 70-53 quarterfinal win over The King’s Eagles.

El Ouali recorded 11 points off the bench in an 89-78 loss to Fanshawe in the semifinals, then recorded a game-high 17, hitting five three-pointers as the Blues beat the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology Ooks 72-66 in the bronze semifinals.

Dawson dropped the bronze-medal game 84-58 to Saint-Jean-sur.

El Ouali respectfully declined interview requests as she works on her English.

“It’s important that we speak to her character. In talking to her, she understands the culture we’re trying to build,” Bonhomme said. “Outside of being tremendously talented on the court, the character she’s going to bring to the community is a big reason why we wanted to try to get her.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com