BYU’s Sydney Benally looking to build on last season’s success
Navajo Times | Quentin Jodie
BYU point guard Sydney Benally smiles while being introduced during the championship game at the 2026 NABI tournament on Saturday afternoon. Benally is entering her sophomore year looking to help the Cougars earn a bid to the NCAA tournament.
PHOENIX
The Brigham Young University women’s basketball team missed the NCAA tournament last year, which left a sour taste in Diné hoops player Sydney Benally.
As the team’s floor general, Benally wants to make sure they make the field come next spring as she enters her sophomore season.
“I feel like it’s going to be a great year for us,” said Benally, who made a special appearance at last week’s Native American Basketball Invitational in Phoenix. “We didn’t lose that many to the transfer portal. Actually, a lot of the players decided to stay and we’re adding some freshmen, so we’re just continuing to build on what we accomplished last year.”
Last season, BYU (22-11) made the women’s NIT tournament as a member of the Big 12 Conference and the Cougars reached the championship game, losing to Columbia University by an 81-64 count in the finals played at the Charles Koch Arena at Wichita State University.
“That was a big steppingstone for the program,” Benally said of making the finals. “It was upsetting that we didn’t make March Madness with the NCAA tournament, but we felt that we could prove (them wrong) by making it far in the NIT tournament.”
To read the full article, please see the July 23, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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