Kari Gibb/MDN Senior Maya Vibeto drives to the basket at the 2024 Division B, District 8 Girls Basketball Tournament. Vibeto is a finalist for the 2024 NDAPSSA Miss Basketball award.

The finalists for the 2024 North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Miss Basketball Award were announced on Monday, March 18, 2024 and included senior Maya Vibeto from Our Redeemer’s on the list.

The five-foot, four-inch Knight, Vibeto made first team all state for the Division B Girls team. She scored her 2,000th point in quarterfinal regional play and led the Knights to the 2024 NDHSAA Division B, Region 4 Girls Basketball championship and into the 2024 NDHSAA Division B Girls Basketball State Tournament where Our Redeemer’s finished in sixth place where Vibeto was 6-13 from the field, 10-30 from three point range and averaged 15 points, three rebounds and two steals per game at the tournament.

These facts are not the reason Vibeto is a finalist.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle once wrote, “virtues are formed in man by his doing the actions,”. The writer Will Durant interpreted Aristotle by writing: “We are what we repeatedly do… therefore excellence is not an act, but a habit.”

Anyone who knows Vibeto can see this statement in action.

“Maya has shown great leadership in these last two years,” said Our Redeemer’s head girls basketball coach Hart Andes. “She had a part in making players around her better with the competition she brought everyday. She led by example and her teammates fed off of that. She will always be remembered as an Our Redeemer’s Knight and will go on to do great things!”

The facts and stats are indicators of her attitude and attributes that are habitual excellence. The fact that Vibeto will play volleyball in college shows that excellence in production is not just limited to one thing.

“She is an active senior at our school,” said Our Redeemer’s athletic director, Elizabeth Vibeto. “She leads the cheering sections of our sporting events, volunteers at the blood drives, is active with the National Honor Society, volunteering as a coach for the younger kids in basketball and volleyball- We will miss Maya!”

Vibeto’s path could have been much more turbulent.

“Maya had to navigate the social pitfalls of earning a starting position as a seventh grader,” said E. Vibeto. “With her work ethic, determination and being coachable, she has become the leader she is today on and off the court. She is striving to set the bar higher. Her teammates feed off of her energy and leadership. They too, strive to set the bar higher. It creates such a great team environment. She helps them put the work in while having a lot of fun while doing it.”