Usually the story of three young ladies, all from different schools, signing to play basketball at the same school would be unique enough, but this local trio took it one step further – much further.
Fabens’ Belen Gutierrez, Parkland’s Jocelyn Gandara and Canutillo’s Alexis Holguin signed with North Dakota’s Turtle Mountain Community College Friday afternoon at Street Cred Sports in East-Central El Paso.
Now the trio will go from mere miles away from the US-Mexican Border, to a mere 8 miles from the US-Canadian Border.
Interim Athletic Director, and women’s head basketball coach, Mike Gonzalez, recruited the trio – even offering the Wildcats-own Gutierrez a full ride scholarship to the school.
According to the TMCC website, the school “is nestled within the boundaries of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indian Reservation. Our main college site provides a breathtaking view of the beauty of our reservation. TMCC is located three miles north of Belcourt and nearly 8 miles south of the Canadian border, near the beautiful International Peace Gardens. TMCC has the honor of being one of the six founding members of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium.”
The ‘Mighty Mikinocks’ – mikinocks being a “large snapping turtle” – play in the NIAC Conference, and start their season this October.
