Diné players see success

Serving as role models, Natives work for their communities

DURANGO, Colo.

Throughout the country, especially the Four Corners region, Navajo women basketball players are making marks at the collegiate level.

On Nov. 16 at Fort Lewis, which was one of the 10 stops in the Nike N7 series, Fort Lewis College and Northern New Mexico College faced off with high Navajo representation.

Fort Lewis is home to four Native American athletes: Navajos Briana Clah, Jordyn Lewis and Tanisha Begay and Chippewa Kayla Herrera.

North New Mexico is home for Navajos Kalisha Kinsel, Melanie Secody, Ashley John and Jemez Pueblo’s RanDee Toya.

The eight were in a very rare situation facing familiar opponents in a college game.

Northern New Mexico senior and Shiprock alum Ashley John said it was a game to remember, despite Fort Lewis walking away with the 105-51 victory.

“It’s really awesome to compete against other Native Americans because you rarely see them go to the next level,” she said. “To compete against my former teammates Tanisha Begay, to compete against Jordyn Lewis and Briana Clah, who I used to compete against in summer tournaments, it’s fun.

“In high school we compete against other teams that were on the reservation,” she said, “I think I could get used to it.”

John participated in many state title runs with the Lady Chiefs but fell just short of a state championship on more than one occasion. It didn’t stop her from playing at the next level.
She said she’s learned quite a bit from playing at the college level and hopes that others get the same opportunities.

“When I first came here it wasn’t really what I expected,” she said. “I thought that it was going to be easy because of the amount of time that I played basketball throughout my whole life.

“College is way different than high school,” she said. “They’re quicker and they’re stronger, and it was challenging but I adapted to it pretty quickly.”

This season John was joined by former Shiprock teammate Melanie Secody, who was a part of Shiprock’s state championship team last season.

John said she’s played with many former teammates from Shiprock and is happy to see them come on board.

“It’s really awesome not only do I get to play alongside them, I can encourage them to keep playing,” she said. “I try to encourage some of the girls from the reservation to come out and try out.

“It makes me so happy and so proud to see Native Americans go to the next level,” she said.

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