FIGHTING FOR MORE THAN WINS
The Bernalillo High School girls basketball team is having a fantastic season piling up wins. “We had a four-year goal of having this kind of season next year, so we’re like a year ahead of schedule,” said head coach Ashley Darnell-Duran.
But the funny thing about schedules, they don’t always go according to plan. Last spring, what first appeared to be a non-aggressive form of breast cancer quickly revealed itself to be something far more serious. “It was the 23rd of April, I went out to the Mayo clinic for a second opinion and found out the cancer was super aggressive,” she explained. “It had spread to lymph nodes already, spread to my chest bone and it was so quick. By April 30th I had my first chemo.”
She went through surgery, 15 rounds of radiation, and an aggressive schedule of chemotherapy. “You kind of go into survival mode,” coach said. “You don’t want to be negative and think about death, but it was a big thought, like what’s going to happen? I told my doctors over and over ‘I have a three year old son,’ that’s the only thing I could think of. I gotta get through this. I can’t leave him to grow up without a mom.”
Coach quickly discovered cancer is a full-time job. “It’s extremely demanding, it’s exhausting,” she described. “When I was going through radiation, it was like five appointments a day. You’re exhausted.”
But she never gave up. With the same grit she demands on the court, Ashley kept going. And now, while she won’t say she’s beaten cancer just yet, she can finally see a win on the horizon, along with leaving a lasting imprint on her team. “The biggest thing I wanted to show them this whole time is that you can fight through anything. A lot of these girls have had cancer in their family, and maybe have lost someone they loved, I just want to show them you can beat this. You can do it, but you gotta stay active. You gotta take care of yourself. It doesn’t matter what you’re going through in life, you can get through this.”
Her players feel that message when they take the floor. “Every time we play, we think of her, and play for her always,” said junior Kailani Trancosa.
“Us being there for her has really helped her,” said junior Trinity Calabaza. The way she laughs and smiles, knowing she’s going through all that, I think that’s what makes us want to win.”
And through it all, Coach Darnell-Duran has never felt alone. “The support they’ve given me, and my family alone has been amazing,” she said. “I will never forget this season, these girls, anything.”
This year, the scoreboard tells one story. But the real victory is written in resilience, and a team that learned — together — how to fight.
