‘A PASSION FOR THE GAME’
Cheyenne Cordova makes successful return to the court
Sometimes things are just meant to be, even if they take a little longer than expected to kick in.
Take Northern New Mexico College point guard Cheyenne Cordova, a 2013 Pojoaque Valley High School graduate who is not exactly your typical college sophomore.
Eagles assistant coach Mandy Montoya convinced Cordova, who spent time taking some classes at Santa Fe Community College and working in Albuquerque, not to come to college fulltime, but to hit the court again.
“I thought I was done after my senior year of high school,” Cordova said. “I really didn’t want to play anymore. But a couple of years afterward, I realized this is probably my last shot I’m ever going to get and I am loving it.”
Now in her second season with NMCC, Cordova leads the Eagles to the Association of Independent Institutions tournament today to face Rochester at Point Lookout, Mo.
She is second on the team, with 12 points a game, and leads in assists with 4.3.
“She’s an excellent ball player,” Eagles head coach Tony Gallegos said. “I’d put up her against anybody in New Mexico as far as being a great point guard. She’s very difficult to guard and she’s a very good defender. She has a passion for the game that not too many players have.”
Perhaps that comes from her roundabout journey to NMMC.
“Last year, we needed some numbers, and coach Montoya beat the bushes and looked around,” Gallegos said. Cordova “was still available. How she slipped through the cracks is beyond me because she’s a heck of a player.”
Because of some academic issues, she was unable able to play in her first semester at NMMC but, since then, has been a fixture in the lineup.
“I really wanted to start off the season right and then I got the news (of being ineligible) and it was kind of hard,” Cordova said. “But I worked hard, and went to practice and learned the plays. It’s a great feeling to be able to play. It’s a whole other type of competition compared to high school basketball.”
Cordova has been a part of pushing the Eagles forward as last season the team was the sixth seed on the conference tournament and this year it improved to the fourth seed.
“We put a plan in place every season,” Gallegos said. “Our job is to try to put a process in place. Little by little, we’ve improved.”
Cordova said she’s just happy to be a part of that improvement and is glad to be moving toward an academic goal, even as she’s also working in the Rio Arriba County assessor’s office.
“I don’t feel any pressure,” she said of the upcoming tournament. “It’s going to be like any other game, just competing in the game of basketball. We shouldn’t treat it any other, different way.
Cordova is working toward an integrated studies degree with an emphasis on psychology.
“Oh yes, it can be hard sometimes,” she said. “You go to class, practice, go to work, have practice. It is a struggle. But what’s good for us is we get to travel and see other states, and see how different places are. We’ve been to California and now we’re going to Missouri. I’ve never been to Missouri.”