Six Native American Players to Watch This Season
According to NCAA demographics data for the past ten years, throughout all divisions the percentage of NCAA women’s basketball players that identify as American Indian/Alaska Native has never been higher than 0.5%. One Native American women’s basketball duo who made headlines a few years ago were Louisville’s Shoni and Jude Schimmel (Heritage: Umatilla), the first-ever Native Americans to play in an NCAA Final Four game. Shoni Schimmel proceeded to become the fourth Native American to play in the WNBA.
In honor of November being National Native American Heritage Month, we compiled a list highlighting six Native American NCAA women’s basketball players who have already made an impact on their teams this season.
Chelsea Dungee (Cherokee), Redshirt Junior, Guard, Arkansas (Division I)
2019–20 Stats: 18.0 PPG, 6.5 REB, 2.8 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.5 BPG
Dungee practically lives at the charity stripe. Last season, she was second in Division I in free throws made (229) and free throws attempted (275). But she didn’t average 20.5 points per game last season just off free throws. She was fourth in the SEC in three-pointers made (39) and seventh in two-pointers made (98). Since she can score from anywhere on the court, it’s not a surprise she was first in total points (449) in the conference. She scored in single digits only three times last season, while posting 20+ points in 14 games and 30+ points in six.
This season, she’s the leading scorer and has the second highest defensive rebounding average for Arkansas. The Razorbacks will need her to continue to put up big numbers for them to stand out in a talented SEC.
Brice Calip (Mvskoke Creek), Junior, Guard, Missouri State (Division I)
2019–20 Stats: 15.0 PPG, 3.2 REB, 3.2 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG
Like Dungee, Calip was in the top-five of the Missouri Valley Conference in free throws made (77) and free throws attempted (100) last season. Both Calip and Dungee played together under Calip’s mother at Sapulpa High School in Sapulpa, Oklahoma.
Building off their trip to the Sweet Sixteen last year, Calip’s Missouri State Lady Bears are already off to a hot start at 4–1, beating №23 Minnesota 77–69 in their first game of the season. That game was a demonstration of her scoring ability, as she scored 21 points off 50% shooting while going 7–7 from the free throw line. Despite missing a game, Calip ranks in the 97th percentile in total points with 60.
Dominique Golightly (Kiowa), Senior, Forward, Abilene Christian (Division I)
2019–20 Stats: 16.0 PPG, 9.0 REB, 2.0 APG, 2.0 SPG, 0.0 BPG
Last season, Golightly helped the Wildcats to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. She averaged 14.3 points and 32.0 minutes a game and ranked third in the Southland Conference in three-pointers made (48) and attempted (134) and fourth in field goals made (109).
Even though the Wildcats have only played one game so far this season, Golightly has already made her presence known with 16 points and 9 rebounds in a win against Wright State. With the team returning all but one player from last year, Golightly will look to lead her team to another 20+ win season.
Jordyn Lewis (Navajo), Junior, Guard, New Mexico Highlands (Division II)
2019–20 Stats: 18.5 PPG, 3.0 REB, 3.0 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.0 BPG
Lewis already has 74 points through four games, ranking her 11th in Division II. Last season, she ranked fourth in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) in three-pointers made (59) comprising of 41% of the team’s total made three-point shots (144). She scored in double-figures in 19 out of 23 games including a career-high of 25 points on two occasions.
In her first two games last season against Eastern New Mexico and Western New Mexico, Lewis averaged 3.5 points and had 13 turnovers and zero assists. This season against the same two teams, she averaged 18 points and only had seven turnovers along with six assists, which is quite the turnaround.
Fun fact: her younger sister, Kourtney, is a freshman on the team.
Cenia Hayes (Cherokee), Junior, Guard, Northeastern State (Division II)
2019–20 Stats: 16.3 PPG, 3.3 REB, 1.0 APG, 2.3 SPG, 0.7 BPG
The RiverHawks finished second-to-last in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Conference (MAIC) last season, but Hayes ranked in the top 10 in the conference in nine different stats, including free throw percentage (88.9%, 4th), steals per game (1.7, 6th) and assists per game (3.0, 9th).
Hayes had a career-high 27 points along with five rebounds in a win against Arkansas-Fort Smith on Nov. 16th. She also ranks in the 98th percentile in three-pointers made per game (3.0) in Division II and has the highest point per scoring attempt (PPSA) on the team (1.32).
Lexus Eagle Chasing (Omaha and Sioux), Sophomore, Guard, Minnesota-Morris (Division III)
2019–20 Stats: 15.3 PPG, 6.8 REB, 2.8 APG, 3.0 SPG, 0.8 BPG
Eagle Chasing was one of only two freshmen in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) to start every game last season. She helped lead the Cougars to a third-place finish in the UMAC, scoring a team-high 18 points in their conference tournament loss against Bethany Lutheran.
She made an impact on all aspects of the stat sheet. She ranked in the top 10 in UMAC in 2-point percentage (57.7%, 3rd), foul rate (1.6%, 4th), total assists (46, 8th) and total steals (33, 9th). She’s improving upon those stats this season, recording her first career double-double on Nov. 16 and ranking in the 96th percentile in steals per game.
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