PASCO, Wash. – Columbia Basin College women’s basketball coach, Cheryl Holden, continues to recruit American Indian athletes. Last year was her first year to have Native girls with four girls on that team. Two of those girls have left the program this year, but two more have replaced them.
Returning girls are Lindsey Begaii, Navajo, from Winslow, Ariz., and Rondelle Guthrie, Umatilla, from Zillah, Wash. New to the team this year are Dora Brings Yellow, Quinault, from Taholah, Wash., and Samantha White Temple, Standing Rock Sioux, from Lapwai, Idaho, but originally from North Dakota.
Lindsey, who played on two state championship teams in Arizona, starts for CBC at the post. ”Lindsey is a great asset to our team,” Holden commented. ”She sees the court very well and is a great passer. For a 5’10” post player, she can hit the ‘3’ when we need it. She’s also very mature. She brings that leadership part. On the court she’s quiet, but does all those little things – a great no-look pass or will block a shot. Off the court she distributes the verbal part when it needs to be said like in a team meeting. That’s huge!”
Rondelle is one of the first players off the bench. ”She’s a 3-point shooter and one of our leading rebounders. She does great off the dribble, can get to the rim, and also moves well without the ball.”
Dora and Samantha are in the first rotation off the bench. ”Sam [Samantha] is first or second post player to come in depending on the game. She can hit that step-out 12-15 foot jump shot consistently. We look for her to continue to grow. Dora actually played five games at Grays Harbor last year before a car wreck ended her season. We were able to get her back her freshman year so she’ll have two years here. She’s a true point guard. She thinks pass first, shoot second and sees the court very well. She’s one of our quicker players and continues to grow within our system. I think that by the end of league she’s going to be a huge contributor to our team,” Holden said.
Coach Holden reiterated comments she had made during her first year with Native girls. ”I find them very respectful. They work hard. I think any difference [between Native girls and others] is that they’ve grown up playing a style of basketball that is a little bit different than what our other kids have played. It’s a bit more loose. That’s not a negative thing by any means. They move a little more naturally without the ball where some of our other kids come in from structured programs where they’ve been told where to move at exactly what time. My style is to push the ball and run a lot of motion offense so I like that about the Native girls.”
So what does Coach Holden think of coaching Indian girls? ”I enjoy coaching the Native players. I think they bring a different perspective. They have a calmness about them. One of the things Lindsey will say to me during critical points and to our whole team, is just stay calm. I can be a pretty high-strung coach at times, so it helps to have that perspective on our team.”
Lindsey and Rondelle are each in their second year at CBC and offered some thoughts about the school and coach.
”Coach Holden is a really good coach and people here have helped me the past two years with school, classes and getting all that figured out,” Lindsey commented. Rondelle had similar thoughts. ”I like it here a lot. I love the girls and the program. The new Native girls coming in have fit in extremely well. It’s not a big deal that we’re Native but are all treated the same.”
Dora and Samantha are new to college this year, but both are enjoying it. Sam remarked about how much faster the college game is than high school and loves the change.
Dora added that it’s hard to be several hours away from her family, ”but here at CBC, my teammates are like my new family. They’re here for me and you develop a lot of relationships here.” She felt many Native students are apprehensive about leaving the reservation, but encouraged them to make that leap. ”There’s a whole new world out there. It would be good if everyone put their mind to it and just went.”
