Lady Dreams fall short of their dream to win NABI title

By Donovan Quintero
Special to the Times

PHOENIX — The Lady Dreams, a promising basketball team hailing from several communities in the Navajo Nation, had their sights set on a historic victory at the 20th annual Native American Basketball Invitational Championship. Led by their passionate head coach, Eric Nelson, the Dreams had been training tirelessly and honing their skills for this moment.

Their journey had been nothing short of inspiring, as they fought their way through tough competition to reach the semifinals against the formidable Lady Legendary Elite from Oklahoma.

The stage was set last Saturday morning at the iconic Footprint Center in Phoenix, as both teams prepared for a showdown that would determine who would advance to the championship game. The Lady Dreams, fueled by a deep sense of pride and determination, took to the court with unwavering confidence in their abilities. They believed that this was their time to shine, their moment to make history by capturing their first NABI championship title.

From the opening tip-off, it was clear that the Lady Elite were a force to be reckoned with. Their speed, precision, and teamwork were unmatched, and they quickly gained the upper hand in the game. The Dreams fought valiantly, showcasing their skills and determination, but they struggled to keep up with the relentless pace and intensity of their opponents.

“We came out pretty strong but after a while, we kind of got a little bit intimidated,” said Nelson.

Lady Elite’s Mattison Bell and Cecily Swimmer both took the reins early in the game and quickly put points on the board. Bell and Swimmer combined to score 23 points in the first half. The Lady Dreams tried making adjustments but the Elites seemed to always be a step ahead.

Lady Dreams guard Melicia Nelson was looking to find an offensive flow by having good looks at the basket. On defense, she tried to keep the Lady Elite’s scoring run to a minimum. Overall, Nelson contributed 13 points to her team’s score. While that was her game plan, she said the team seemed to have lost its confidence.

“I think the girls started freaking out a little bit,” said Nelson, “and we started getting a little intimidated, and we started forcing passes, forcing shots. That’s when Legendary Elite ran the floor pretty good and got a couple of easy buckets.”

As the game progressed, Coach Nelson observed with a heavy heart as his team began to falter under the pressure. The once-confident players seemed to second-guess themselves, their movements hesitant and their shots off-mark. The defense they relied on that got them into the final four, as well as their half court, man-to-man defense, suddenly fell short.

Jazlyn Nosie said the Dream’s game plan was to create opportunities for Morningrain Honani to rain down treys. However, while they may have created opportunities, Honani managed to score only a couple of three-pointers during the whole game. Legendary Elite took advantage of the misses and began opening the lead.

“They’re fast, they’re quick, they know how to move the ball, and they have a really good shooter,” said Nosie. “And I think that really helped them.”

The Lady Dreams found themselves trailing behind the Lady Elite by a significant margin as the final buzzer drew near. Despite their best efforts to rally and mount a comeback, the gap only seemed to widen as the clock ticked down. In the end, the Dreams fell short, succumbing to a 69-43 defeat that dashed their hopes of clinching the championship title.

After the game, Coach Nelson said he was proud of the Lady Dreams and their efforts to make it into the final four.

“I’m still proud, and the girls came a long ways,” said Coach Nelson. “You know, out of 84 teams and we’re the top four.

“A lot of accomplishments were made this week,” Nelson added, “ and I believe that if they had just believed in themselves, we could have been right there with them (Legendary Elite).”

Despite the defeat, Coach Nelson remained optimistic about the future of the Lady Dreams. He emphasized the lessons that could be learned from this experience and the importance of resilience in the face of adversity.

“It was a great experience for them,” Nelson said. “The national attention, I think, gave them the confidence to want to try harder. The competition here is at the highest level, at the collegiate level.”

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