Former Ganado standout finds new home at Holbrook

WINSLOW

Abigail Benally lost two of her love ones to COVID-19.

And when she decided to transfer to Holbrook High to continue to play basketball, the former Ganado point guard heard all of the criticisms on social media.

“COVID has hit my family pretty hard,” the senior guard said. “I lost my cousin and my grandma to it, so it was pretty hard making that decision because a lot of people were saying, ‘Why are you going to play basketball?’ They were telling me that it’s not very important.”

Despite receiving a lot of backlash, Benally sought a higher power in making her decision to attend Holbrook.

“I just put my trust in God, knowing that He’s gonna take care of me and my family,” she said. “This choice wasn’t easy and if I was a junior I would have stayed at Ganado but this is my senior year.”

Benally said she lost her cousin in May followed by her grandmother in the summer. She said it was hard to even think about playing basketball but after some soul searching she wanted to get back onto the court.

“I really think about my cousin and grandma a lot,” she said. “I know they would have wanted me to play, and not be too scared.”

Since she enrolled at Holbrook last October, Benally has gone with in-person learning under the hybrid model. She meets her school bus in Greasewood, Arizona, which is a 20-minute drive from her hometown of Burnside.

“I ride the bus at six every morning,” she said. “I usually get home between seven and eight and that’s when I do my homework and then I’m off to bed.”

Longtime Holbrook coach Greg Perkins said he’s elated to have Benally join his full-stacked team as the Roadrunners return nine players off last year’s Elite Eight team.

“Abigail is obviously a great player and we welcomed her,” he said. “I’m glad that she decided to come to Holbrook but I’m upset that she had to do this for her and her family. I feel terrible for the teams, coaches and players that are not playing this year but I fully understand that. I think we’re very fortunate to be playing and I’m glad that we are playing.”

While at Ganado, she helped the Lady Hornets reach the Final Four round her freshman season. The following year they got as far as the Sweet 16 and last season they made it to the Final Four again.

Despite the success she experienced at her former school, Perkins said Benally is still trying to carve out a consistent role with the Lady Roadrunners.

“Right now, we’re trying to figure everything out with her,” he said. “We played a lot against her in the past but she’s playing with a group of girls she hasn’t played with. She’s still trying to figure out some of the sets we do so it makes perfect sense that it’s going to take her some time.”

Nevertheless, the Holbrook coach said Benally is going to find her place in the Roadrunner’s rotation.

“As the season goes along we’re going to get better and better with her being apart of this team,” he said.

Holbrook senior Matehya Aberle said Benally is learning fast and she’s starting to contribute.

“I think she’s a great addition to the team,” the Holbrook post said of her new teammate. “I think she’s doing a good job at it. She’s becoming another leader on the team. I’m just so glad I get to finish my senior season with her.”

Lady Roadrunner guard Talynn Spencer said having Benally on the team gives Holbrook another option.

“She’s a great shooter and she’s a great ball handler,” Spencer said. “It’s good that she came to Holbrook. She’s helping us right now.”

Benally said she appreciates the receptions she’s gotten from the entire Holbrook community.

“When I transferred coach Perkins and the team welcomed me with open arms,” she said. “I’m so glad they did because everybody have been so nice to me and they’ve treated me like I’m family. They brought me in and I feel like at home with them, just like it was at Ganado. They have been really nice to me, even the school members and the school administrators have been really good.”

Even though she’s a new member to the Roadrunner program, Benally believes that she’s on the same wavelength as her teammates. She said they have the same mindset of going deep in the state playoffs.

“This is my last year so I’m going to do as much as I can with these girls,” she said. “I know that we can do go pretty far. We’re getting better and better each game and I feel like we’ve really improved.”

---