With a loss to the Laxgalts'ap Aces (Greenville) in game two of a grueling All Native Basketball Tournament, it could have easily gone sideways for the Hesquiaht Descendants.
But the small team of eight players took the defeat, turned it into fuel and rallied to win six tough backdoor games for a spot in the women’s final against the Similkameen Starbirds from the Okanagan Valley. Along with 15 other teams in the women’s division, the Descendants made a run for the title of the 66th annual All Native Basketball Tournament (ANBT), which was held Feb. 14 to 21 in Prince Rupert, B.C.
“We proved ourselves. We really took that first loss and learned from it. We got stronger from it,” said team captain Mariah Charleson, who was named a tournament All-Star.
She said her young team from Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations territory on Vancouver Island “connected with home” after the Greenville upset by going to the ocean together for a cold dip and receiving a cedar brushing from coach Qwaami Frank and team manager Troy John.
“I don’t think we could have made it to the finals without Qwaami’s knowledge of the game,” said Charleson.
The Descendants knocked out three teams in the backdoor before getting revenge on Greenville in a close 68-60 rematch. They went on to oust Kitamaat 72-57 to make it to a semi-final against Bella Coola.
With an impressive defense and a string of smooth triples, Hesquiaht showed up for the Friday night lights semi-final, taking down Bella Coola 73-62.
“We want to give a big klecko, klecko to Ha’oom for sponsoring that semi-final game. We know that it means a lot for our fans just to be able to see us play,” said Charleson. “We don’t have a lot of fans up there because we travel so far, so having the little Hesquiahts running around in the gym with our banner was super awesome and uplifting.”
Port Alberni-based Descendant Destiny Hanson, 24, hit seven three-pointers in the semi-final against Bella Coola.
“They passed me the ball and I was just open. They trusted me. It was really a team effort on that. They couldn’t guard all of us on that, one of us was always open, so I always just had the opportunity to shoot, so I just shot the ball,” said Hanson, who also picked up a tournament All-Star award.
ANBT rookie Jaysen Touchie, a Grade 12 student at Ucluelet Secondary School, made a few huge blocks throughout the tournament, leading commentators to call her “force field”.
“I am so proud of Jaysen,” said her older sister Jada Touchie, who won Most Outstanding Player and Top ANBT Scorer. “I’ve spent all season watching her train hard in the gym and going to training camps and just being such a strong player offensively and defensively. Seeing her determination and strength, I’m just so proud of her. And to see it translate to All Natives, which has the roughest basketball in all of B.C., is just awesome.”
“I’m already looking forward to next year. I’ve gotten a feel for the physically and what I need to improve on,” said Jaysen.
It’s hard to take down a dynasty team like Similkameen. Hitting the court for the ninth game of the tournament, a “roughed up” Hesquiaht bench fell prey to the rhythm of Similkameen’s suffocating defense to lose the ANBT final 61-29.
This year marks Similkameen’s fourth consecutive All Native championship banner. Two years ago in 2024, the Starbirds also beat the Descendants in the final by 21 points.
“We’ve observed a lot of other teams get close to the championships, make it finals, not quite make it, make it to finals, not quite make it, and then eventually, break through. That is my prediction for our team. We will get there. We will break through,” said Skylene Touchie, the eldest of the Touchie sisters who was injured early in the tournament.
“We are going to get home and train harder to show up in the finals a little stronger next year,” said Skylene. “Our team also travels the farthest to get to this tournament. There is no team that travel farther than we do.”
“It was an unfortunate outcome, but we know what we are capable of,” Charleson adds. “We know under the right circumstances we can beat Similkameen.”
Rookies Tessa Charleson, 18, won the Ms. Hustle award and Brielle Tom, 16, held her own against collegiate-level ballers.
Hesquiaht Descendants were named the Most Sportsmanlike Team of the 66th ANBT, an award many say means even more than winning a title. This year, 16 women’s teams from all over the province entered the tournament.
“I feel really proud of our team for all of the hard work they put in. It was not an easy road at all to make it as far as we did,” said Skylene.
“The whole tournament through the backdoor, I wouldn’t have changed it. It brought us closer together and stronger,” said Jada.
The next All Native Tournament will be Feb. 13 to Feb. 20, 2027.
