The girls basketball team at Whitehorse High, a school on a remote part of the Navajo Nation, made it to the Utah championships last year.
But that was with a different coach, a non-Indian who has moved away. So the pressure is on Marrietta Hatathle, a Navajo woman who has always wanted to coach a Native team but has found her first year to be a very difficult one.
Hatathle has had an uphill fight as she tries to keep the team united and focused. Some parents and faculty blame her for a disappointing season. Others reject her because she was raised in a different community.
The Whitehorse Raiders still have a shot at making the championships with a play-in game. "Play as a team, sister and family," Hatathle tells them.
Get the Story:Whitehorse: A game, a lifeline (The Salt Lake Tribune 10/30) Related Stories:
All-Native basketball tourney underway in Arizona (07/12)
Native American Basketball Invitational kicks off (07/05)
All-Native basketball tournament kicks off (06/23)
Registration opens for Native basketball tourney (01/12)
Basketball a sense of pride, honor on reservations (07/26)
Phoenix Suns to host Native basketball tourney (02/04)