Mya Williams found out she was the conference’s player of the week from an Instagram post.
The “glue player,” as her coach called her, was “shocked” to see her name and face, and immediately started receiving text messages.
“I was like, Oh look, it’s me!” Williams said. “But I couldn’t do it without my teammates, honestly, so I can’t take all the credit.”
Williams and other stars are leading Northern as they finished their best regular season in team history and look toward the postseason. They won two games at home last week, and plan to continue making history. Northern defeated Barclay College on Feb. 6 92-24, then defeated Haskell 70-61.
“We’ve been on the road for a good little stretch, so it’s nice this week to be at home,” Northern Coach Samantha Stukes said. “We’re pretty optimistic about the group that we have. We have a strong team. And they’ve really been locked in this semester.”
In Stukes’ first year as coach, in her first opportunity, the Eagles are prospering. Even counting exhibition losses to Division I teams, Northern is 15-12 on the season. Their official record against NAIA teams is 15-5.
Though records are sometimes hard to come by, this appears to be the first winning season in team history. And they are two wins away from their first-ever NAIA national tournament.
“We’ve just been hitting our stride at the right time,” Stukes said. “Our big players for us, our starters, have been playing amazing. Very consistent basketball. Getting it done on the defensive end and converting it into our offense.”
Placing in the top two in the upcoming conference tournament guarantees the Lady Eagles a spot in the national tournament. Northern will seemingly be either the first or second seed — currently, they are tied at 7-1 with Florida National. If they can beat two lower-seeded teams in the first two rounds, they’re in.
The likely No. 3 seed is Washington Adventist, who recently lost to the Haskell team that Northern just defeated for the third time this season.
Mya Williams is a team leader, and was the Jan. 22 win Conference Player of the Week after wins over Haskell and College of the Ozarks.
“She does a little bit of everything for us,” Stukes said.
The Manzano graduate was at Northern as a freshman, then went to play at Trinidad State. After last year, she opted to transfer back to Northern and play under a new coach.
“It’s been fun,” Williams said. “I love the girls, I love Coach Sam. I love the way she pushes me. She helps my confidence a lot.”
Williams led the Trojans to the NJCAA regional tournament last year, and is looking to bring similar success to Northern this year.
Joining Williams is former Española star Miranda Salazar, a capable junior point guard who has thrived. Capital High’s Ethena Silva is also a third-year starter alongside Salazar. And Briana Marquez, a West Las Vegas product, is one of the team’s leading scorers.
The entire roster of players comes from New Mexico or El Paso, Texas, with the sole exception of Paulina Lopez Cervantes, a guard from Mexico.
Against Barclay, the Eagles scored 28 straight points in the first quarter, and they led 60-9 at halftime, cruising to a 68-point victory.
Marquez and Silva both scored 17 points in limited minutes. Lauren Hicks had nine points, six assists and 10 rebounds off the bench. The team collected 22 steals.
Haskell presented a tougher challenge, but Northern prevailed. A strong second quarter put the Eagles ahead 42-36 at halftime. Northern led by double digits for almost the entire fourth quarter, leading by 17 with 3:30 left, until a last-minute shot made the score within 10.
Marquez’s 16 points led the team, and Silva had 11 points and eight rebounds. The Eagles forced 22 turnovers, and only gave up 13. They also outscored Haskell 12-0 on second-chance points.
And the Eagles are already building for the future. They have signed Peñasco forward Analise MacAuley to the team, and are excited to continue recruiting.
“She’s an athletic small forward, guard mix,” Stukes said. “She can shoot the ball really well, she finishes with contact. She has a really good rebounding and blocking ability. But I really love how coachable she is. And how hungry she is to learn.”
Stukes added that they are still seeking input and ideas on how to engage the community and increase attendance at games.
Northern plays in the Continental Athletic Conference tournament in Lawrence, Kan. starting on Feb. 29. Final seeding will be released, Stukes said, on Feb. 19.
“We’ve got to get to the championship,” Stukes said. “If we get to the championship of the conference tournament, then we’ll get to the national tournament. For the first time ever. That’s the goal.”