2014: Tribal members meet in NCAA Division II basketball game

In perhaps one of the rarest occurrences in college basketball history, two members of the same tribe, Colville members Chenise Peone and Chantel Heath, faced off at the NCAA Division II level. Heath and Central Washington defeated Peone and Hawaii Pacific 68-63 in a Nampa, Idaho tournament.

Chantel Heath, left, and Chenise Pakootas are both tribal members with connections to Inchelium.

FROM TRIBAL TRIBUNE

By Cary Rosenbaum

NAMPA, Idaho – Reeling from a season-opening loss here in the Northwest Nazarene Tip-off, Central Washington—who watched opponent Hawaii Pacific score more than 100 points the night before—showcased its defensive prowess.

The Wildcats held the high-powered Shark offense in check with a 68-63 victory in the NCAA Division II matchup, one that involved tribal members on both teams.

Central Washington guard Chantel Heath scored a pivotal basket as the team survived a late run by continuing as the aggressor and getting to the free throw line.

“We basically were trying to attack HPU and get to the line,” she said. “We were working on free throws all week. And that’s what it came down to was free throws in the end.

“And getting defensive stops,” Heath added. “We pride ourselves on defense that’s what we hang our hats on at the end of the day that we come in. Our offense might not be that great, but we lock down teams on defense.”

HPU’s Chenise Peone, who was whistled for three early fouls, shouldered some of the blame. The shooter said she knows how much her team needed her out there.

“It was frustrating,” she said, “because I felt I could control one of the fouls, the other ones were just out of my hands. And it really costs my team; I knew it did.

“I had to sit out for probably 17 minutes of the first half and the beginning of the second half. That killed us because we didn’t get any defensive rebounds, I guess they outrebounded us by eight (offensive) boards, or something crazy.

“Our team just wasn’t the same, we weren’t aggressive and it was really disappointing.”

Sharks coach Reid Takatsuka said his team probably came in overconfident after defeating Northwest Nazarene 100-81 the night before.

“I think part of the issue tonight was we played such a good game last night,” he said. “I just felt like our kids came into the last game taking it for granted. Central did a great job controlling the tempo of the game. It’s not just our poor play, they took us out of what we normally do.”

Central coach Jeff Harada, who once mentored Takatsuka as head coach of HPU, was excited after the win over the program which had won at least 18 games in each of the past three seasons. The Wildcats finished last in the Greater Northwest Athletic Conference last season.

“We made shots, that was the big thing,” he said. “Our defense was very good, consistent, that was our (modus operandi).

“This was a good HPU team that scored 100 points last night. We knew they were good so we did our game plan, executed how we wanted to and held to 63 which is a good thing for us. If we can hold teams to the low 60s and we make some shots we’ll have a chance to win.”

Peone scored seven straight points to give her team a 59-58 lead with just over five minutes left in the game. During some of the stretch, she found herself guarded by fellow tribal member Heath and vice versa.

“(Chenise) definitely came back and started scoring,” Heath said. “They went on a run. During time out we said, ‘Guys calm down. We can go on a run back.’ We just decided to settle things down, be calm and not panic because otherwise we’d turn it over and they’d go on another run.”

“I didn’t even really notice that I was the one scoring,” Peone said. “I just knew that my focus was on defense. Coach always says if we get stops on defense than we’re going to score. That was the place I was trying to bring energy and it really carries over on offense.”

Peone, a senior, fouled out having played about half the minutes she did the night before.

“That’s a huge loss for us,” Takatsuka said. “She can score it. Bottom line. She can flat out score it. Not having her on the court—the night before she double-doubled, rebounds and points—her energy we feed off of it.”

The Sharks were leading 63-60 with 2:35 left when the Wildcats went on an 8-0 run to close out the win.

“It was just a big win for us,” Harada said. “I’m just so happy it was against Hawaii Pacific, it was more special.”

He highlighted Heath’s unselfish play.

“Chantel is just such an unselfish kid: comes to practice and works hard, is just accepting of any role she gets,” he said of the sophomore. “She deserves to play and I wanted to get her in. When the matchup’s right we’ll get her in the game.

“In the second half, she kind of stepped in and really made some good plays out there. Had a nice pull up in the paint and read the defense well. That’s what she does, read the defense well and is really crafty.”

Courtney Johnson and Hannah Shine led the Wildcats with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Central Washington is 5-2 as off Dec. 8.

“We’re feeling good,” Harada said looking ahead. “We do need to improve a little bit more on hitting open shots. Our offense we’re doing better executing. Getting more fast break points.

“And really keeping turnovers low,” he added. “That’s one of our goals to keep below 10 turnovers a game for the rest of the season. So far it looks promising and we’re turning things around like we want to.”

Morganne Comstock had 22 points and Kylie Huerta played all 40 minutes for the Sharks, scoring 17. With Peone’s scoring ability, Takatsuka felt comfortable moving forward in the season. They are now 6-1 overall.

“We have a young team,” he said. “We have really good pieces: Chenise, Kylee and Morgan. We have something to build on but we have to get in sync. It was a good trip, a good road trip.”

Both teams have the potential to meet up again in the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament.

About 20 family members came to support Peone at one of her few trips to the inland United States. She is averaging 14.5 points per game.

“That’s the best part about coming here,” she said. “I said it’s going to be hard topping this road trip for me. Not everyone’s gonna make it to California or Alaska.”

With Heath in Ellensburg, her family has been able to attend games on a regular basis. Many turned out for a Nov. 30 matchup against Division I Eastern Washington, where the Wildcats narrowly lost 83-70. Heath scored 12 points in that game.

FROM TRIBAL TRIBUNE
COYOTE STORIES: Beyond buckets: The coolest game for a Colville
By Cary Rosenbaum

It’s hard not to be biased when one of your own, or someone from your area, is participating in an athletic event. We cheer, we war hoop, we stomp our feet and so on.

But when you have two people that fit this description on opposing teams, the game changes.

I was likely the only one of a couple hundred in attendance in Nampa, Idaho on Nov. 15 that wanted to see a women’s basketball game between Central Washington University and Hawaii Pacific be called at 3 a.m. after a record-setting number of overtimes and no clear winner.

But the Wildcats of Ellensburg somehow shut down the high-powered Sharks, which are accustomed to scoring at least 80 points a game, winning 68-63.

At times, neither Chenise Peone or Chantel Heath were on the floor. They both have significant roles, with the senior Peone being a cornerstone, but for coaching reasons they saw a combined 28 minutes out of a potential 80. Peone was in foul trouble early and Heath has a backup role as a sophomore.

They also scored just 9 out of 131 points. But statistics have little relevance regarding the importance of this matchup in our neck of the woods.

It’s what they stand for and represent, which is of the utmost importance for the future of the tribe.

Here are two individuals that are the stewards of the next generation.

They represent the broken dreams of many, inside and outside of their family and reservation. It’s not uncommon to have a tribal member attend a college institution on an athletic scholarship, but it is to finish. And here you have two that could do it, something that may never have been accomplished previously—especially at such a high level.

To me, this makes them the best female basketball players in tribal history. While they may not have had the skills of others who had short stints at larger and more competitive institutions—heck, they may not even be able to jump into an All-Indian tournament this year and win MVP—they possess a greater skill to pass on to the next generation of tribal youth: wherewithal, the ability to do whatever is necessary to get something done. You can also call it determination.

This is especially difficult out of one’s comfort zone—in this case, reservation life.

So many times have our brightest stars burned out, been set back or even perished.

Let’s recognize that here you have two individuals who are pushing that hundred-ton boulder uphill in a blizzard.

The bar isn’t moving by inches anymore—instead, by feet.

Applaud these two. Have your kids look up to them. Write on their Facebook wall. Tweet them. Follow them on Instagram. Extend a hand of friendship. Get their autograph. Ask them how they did it.

These are our champions, and they exist on every reservation.

Appreciate their efforts, because they are changing the negative perception of the American Indian athlete that so many before them established:

“They get too homesick.”

“They can’t make the grades.”

“They get into trouble.”

The exciting part for me is this: parity doesn’t exist right now. Peone, upon completion of this season, will have been our greatest basketball player by the standards previously stated.
But Heath has two more seasons.

Where one will have set the bar, maybe as a standout in a deep NCAA tournament run this season, the other can feed off that and potentially raise it even further.

And, while, in a few years you can look at the résumés between the two and begin making arguments, nothing about their accomplishments are individual.

At least they shouldn’t be.

FROM THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW
Colville Tribal members Chantel Heath, Chenise Peone cross paths in college basketball
By Cary Rosenbaum

Central Washington’s Chantel Heath and Hawaii-Pacific’s Chenise Peone are proud members of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Their connection did not result in the scheduling of the NCAA Division II matchup between Central Washington and Hawaii-Pacific in Nampa, Idaho, on Nov. 15, but the culmination of a two-day set of games at Northwest Nazarene will be a rare intersection between members of the same American Indian tribe in college athletics.

“Most people don’t get the opportunity to play against a fellow member of their tribe in this level of college,” Heath, a 19-year-old sophomore, said. “This matchup will be really great and it’s getting more people aware that you can chase your dreams and become a college basketball player.”

“It’s going to be different,” said Peone, a 22-year-old senior who transferred to the Honolulu school after deciding to leave Eastern Washington University and taking a yearlong hiatus from basketball. “We both have a lot in common.”

Both are living blueprints for area American Indians hoping to play at the next level.

Heath was a part of three State 2B championship teams as the point guard for Reardan before being recruited to play at Central Washington in Ellensburg.

As a high school freshman, Peone (maiden name Pakootas) helped lead Class 1B Inchelium to its best finish in school history, fourth at state, before transferring to University High School for two seasons and finishing her high school career a State 4A runner-up at Mead in 2010.

They also represent the broken dreams of their families.

Heath’s father, Mike, quarterbacked the 8-man Inchelium Hornets to a state championship in 1991. Her mother, Deanna, was a standout basketball player at Wilbur-Creston.

“She told me that she was gonna play college basketball and chose not to,” Heath said. “I wanted to fulfill those shoes and be a college basketball player as well as be the first in my family to play a collegiate sport.”

Out of high school, Peone’s father, Joe Pakootas, had a scholarship to play football at Eastern Washington, but did not attend after his wife became pregnant with their first child, she said. A few years later, he unsuccessfully tried out for the Seattle Mariners in Spokane. Along with wife Cheryl, they have raised two previous college basketball sisters in Chrystal (UCLA, Big Bend Community College) and Chelsi (Blue Mountain Community College). Chrystal was injured in her first year at UCLA and transferred to Big Bend. Chenise will be the first four-year athlete in the family.

“Because (my parents) went through all the hardships growing up,” said Peone, whose father was once in foster care, “they made it easy for me. I want all the parents on the rez to see their story. It’s my parents and it’s the rez and it’s the goodness of the parents.”

Though they are both enrolled in the more than 9,400-member tribe, their knowledge of each other is limited. They have twice competed against each other in all-Indian tournaments, Heath said. During AAU, Peone recalled spending the night at the Heath home in Davenport.

“Our background is a lot alike,” Peone said. “She stayed at a smaller school, I went to a bigger school. She’s a stud, a repeating state champ. That’s good for her.”

“I know of her story,” Heath said of the elder Peone’s journey. “Whatever made her happy that’s great and she got to where she wanted to get.”

On the court, they are both accustomed to guard play, though their roles are expected to change this season, according to their coaches.

The 5-foot-6 Heath will find playing time at shooting guard, said Central coach Jeff Harada, hired from the Naval Academy to lead a Wildcats program that finished 2-16 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in 2013.

“We’re looking at playing her at the ‘2’ position because of her scoring ability,” he said. “She’s been very receptive to that and excited. I think she’ll do whatever it takes just to play. I see a totally different focus from her.”

While she aspires to lead the turnaround as the floor general, Heath, who started one game last season and averaged 10 minutes, said she is excited for the challenge.

“It’s something that I’ve had a little bit of experience doing,” she said. “I’m looking forward to having more range shooting, attacking and getting the ball to my teammates as well.”

The 5-9 Peone is accustomed to scoring. At Eastern, she was an off-and-on starter who led the Big Sky Conference in 3-point field-goal efficiency as a sophomore at 40.2 percent. This season, however, she expects to be a jack-of-all-trades, playing from point guard up to power forward. She also will serve as team captain, coach Reid Takatsuka said.

“She’s gonna play a lot of minutes,” said the coach, whose Pacific West Conference team has won at least 18 games in each of the past three seasons. “Her main strength is she’s a great shooter. I think the success of our team is going to be in large part due to her abilities: She’s a strong player, very talented; she has all the intangibles to be a great basketball player.”

As one of Hawaii-Pacific’s tallest players, Peone expects to do a lot of running in order to outmatch teams that outsize them.

“It’s a lot like rez ball to me,” she said, noting the fast-paced, run-and-gun style of play on Indian reservations. “Our team’s all about running. We had a scrimmage and killed the other team because we got layup after layup.”

Leadership is in their blood. In 2002, Peone’s father was chairman of the Colville Business Council while Heath’s grandmother, Jeanne Jerred of Keller, Washington, served as vice-chairwoman. Jerred became one of the few women in the tribe’s history to serve as chairwoman in 2008. Joe Pakootas, of Inchelium, lost to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers in this year’s Fifth District congressional race.

But serving as role models comes with great responsibility, they have found. Whether it’s Honolulu or Ellensburg, the Colville women understand the importance of what their success means to tribal youth back home and across Indian country.

“I never thought that I would be one to be a huge role model for tribal members,” Heath said. “It makes me smile that I’m out here doing what I love and am able to inspire other kids to chase after their dreams.”

“Representing Natives and the Colville Tribe has always been a huge motivator for me,” Peone said. “The things you do, the things you say, it all reflects on where you come from and I never forgot that.”