by By Dan Ninham
The era of top-level high school girls’ basketball continues to climb up the ladder of success for the Red Lake Lady Warriors at the Red Lake Nation. One of the leaders in Minnesota Section Eight for the past five years is finally preparing for her last season.
Kelanna McClain, 17 years old, is a senior basketball player for the Red Lake Lady Warriors. She is Muscogee Creek and her clan is Bear. Her parents are Rob McClain, Sr. and Karrie Lasley.
During the past six years, the Red Lake Lady Warriors amassed a 93-27 won-loss record with 27-4 and 24-4 records during Kelanna’s freshman and eighth grade seasons respectively. The past two years the team played in the Minnesota Class ‘A’ state girls tournament.
“I started taking interest in sports back in elementary school, after I seen my older siblings playing with their teams,” said Kelanna. “At the time it made me want to try it out as well. I started off with basketball and doing some tournaments with some girls a year or two older than me but since there wasn’t many girls basketball tournaments at the time, we had to run against some boys and that was fun.”
“These past years I’ve been able to experience play at the state tournament three times, two of which were back-to-back. One accomplishment I am proud of is getting my 1000 rebounds as a junior, and hopefully this year I can achieve higher accomplishments,” added Kelanna.
“Growing up in a small reservation in northern Minnesota, there wasn’t much to do,” said Kelanna. “A lot of people would keep themselves busy with sports and I was no different. I would watch my siblings play or I would play with the younger Lady Warriors, growing up was no different. I seen our boys’ basketball team achieve greatness while I was in middle school causing me to want to push harder and do the same. Staying true to all the years of playing ‘Rez-ball’ with my teammates we were able to show people a different way of playing that was always fun, especially seeing the other teams and fans reaction to the fast pace that we played.”
“The people in my life who kept me motivated and pushed me to my limit are my parents Karrie Lasley and Robert McClain, my older siblings, Angel McClain, Robert McClain Jr., Tatianna McClain, and my coaches Nolan Desjarlait and Randal Holthusen,” said Kelanna. “They each kept me wanting to push to my limit and not give up no matter how many times I had felt like giving up. These people had shown me how to tap into potential I didn’t even realize I had on and off the court. Keeping me motivated and taking me down a path I never would’ve personally chosen, I will forever be grateful to them.”
Mom Karrie Lasley talked about her daughter Kelanna: “Remembering back to our five-year-old little girl who attended dance classes and then having to go to her older siblings basketball games, not really wanting to be there and telling us ‘I don’t want to play basketball when I get bigger because I don’t want to sweat’ so being our stubborn quiet book-loving girl making this statement didn’t surprise us. Kelanna (Kewe to family and friends) has five McClain siblings with Kewe as the fourth oldest with one older brother, two older sisters and two younger sisters.”
“We love and are always in awe of watching her play basketball in such a pretty, strong, astonishing, and fierce way to help her teammates achieve a win or hearing her at our home gaming with such intensity in her voice, witnessing the emotions of reading a book or watching a anime movie with a storyline that has captivated her. She surprises us with the writing of her own stories, and then drawing the anime style characters of her stories showing another talent and artistry of her personal private interests. She is loving it when she chooses to share that part of herself with us is the only way to describe what you will get from her when she is playing on the court and appreciating the fact she shared that part of herself,” added Karrie.
“Kelanna has always been the type not to bring attention on herself, one to do her own thing or just has understood herself early on as a child not compromising but also being open-minded overall,” said Karrie. “The student-athlete describes Kewe as she performs everything to the best of her abilities and not to the standards of others. She has maintained a 3.7 GPA with her high school classes and college courses. She has shown perseverance and resiliency in her high school classes/college courses at times under stress as on the court dealing with pain or injuries toward getting a win and a few times taking a loss. She is respectful in her relationships with family and friends and those that she meets along the way. Either in the classroom if she disagreed with a grade she would advocate on her own by talking to the teacher to find the understanding. While being on the court she may not agree with the call and as a student-athlete she remains respectful.”
“In her leadership characteristics she has shown us to be yourself, have patience, be confident, focused and accountable. She has been strong, resilient, trustworthy, humble, and brave in representing a Red Lake High School Lady Warrior. Honored that we were chosen to be her Mom and Dad and that her siblings have her as a sister,” added Karrie.
“I’ve watched Kelanna grow not only as a basketball player but as a well respected and grateful human being,” said older sister Angel McClain. “Kelanna’s characteristics start in the classroom and carries her leadership onto the basketball and volleyball courts. She is a two-sport athlete and has played varsity since her seventh grade year and on the basketball court she is working on her fourth state appearance.”
“Kelanna, aka’ Kewe, takes her academics and athletic career very serious and supports her underclassmen to work hard and give it their all no matter what the circumstances are. She’s a very humble and gifted athlete and student. One way I’ve seen her guide me as a player and student was during my senior year in 2019 when she helped lead the team to a state appearance racking up a triple double during the Section 8A championship. She kept the team grounded and showed that if we all wanted to go somewhere we had to do it together,” added Angel.
Big brother Rob is the first Red Lake HS boy’s basketball player to receive a full scholarship at an NCAA DI university. He is a 6-5 senior at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He is a former NJCAA All American at United Tribes. He said: “Kewe has always been pretty independent. She knows a lot about her own strengths and weaknesses and is able to utilize them the best way possible. Whether it will be in school or on the court, she’s going to work hard and lead by example. If it’s one thing, she’s always going to give it her best.”
“Kelanna has always been a great, hardworking, determined, and dedicated teammate and student,” said sister Tatiana. “As her oldest sibling and watching her grow through her athletics and academics she has truly been an inspiration to all of her siblings. She does her best to guide her younger siblings in making the right decisions in and out of school. When it comes to family she will defend and protect whether it’s on or off the court. She pushes herself to be the best in any academic challenge she faces as she has been apart of the NJHS, NHS, and Student Council and is the highest rank in her class.”
“During the 2020 MSHSL girls basketball playoffs, Kelanna had played through a knee injury that she would have to rehab at home every day and night so she could keep it as healthy as possible to continue playing with her teammates. Her high school team ended up making it to the MN State Basketball Tournament,” said Tatiana.
“Kelanna grabbed a rebound and sent a spasm up her back and she could barely run. She sat on the bench for a few minutes and then returned into the game to help out her fellow teammates as much as she could. She knew she couldn’t sit and watch and she felt that she needed to be out there and help. To play through a knee injury and back spasms shows me how far she’ll go to make sure she can help get her teammates to where they want to be,” added Tatiana.
Red Lake HS head girls’ basketball coach Randy Holthusen, a member of the Red Lake Nation, has brought an exciting up tempo and winning environment to the program for several years. The program has the first Red Lake HS girls’ player, Grace White, earn an NCAA DI scholarship and is a senior at Valparaiso University. Alexis Desjarlait was an NJCAA All American last season at Hibbing Community College (MN).
“Kelanna is a beast in the classroom,” said Coach Randy. “She is on the ‘A Honor Roll’ every year that I have been coaching her. Numerous academic achievements while she is at Red Lake High School. She could get a scholarship anywhere because of her mind and her ability to play sports. She also plays volleyball and is in band. Very smart young lady that has so much potential to be and do anything. I am very grateful to have an opportunity to coach her. She has been a great asset and great leader for her teammates in the classroom. She sets a great example as a Red Lake Lady Warriors.”
“She is on the doorstep of becoming a complete player. Her strength is her rebounding and defense. Kelanna is averaging 12 boards a game. She is over the 1000 rebound mark already, and averages more rebounds than points. Her strengths include blocking shots and making it impossible for opposing teams to score. She has exceptional athletic ability that allows her to things most girls can’t. I believe she has another level, which I hope comes out this year. When she is challenged, she rises to the occasion. Not many girls can match up with her size and athletic ability. This what separates her from every girl she plays against,” added Coach Randy.
“Offensively in my opinion she could be more assertive when the time calls for it,” said Coach Randy. “She definitely can score the ball when she has to. She is also on the doorstep to the 1000-point club. She has a total of 894 needing 106 to get there. Kelanna is very capable of doing so. She is a senior this year. The hardest part about having a player like this is, sooner or later they will be seniors and they will graduate. Grateful to have her and know her and it’s been an awesome ride.”
Student-athletes need to prepare themselves in each of the holistic areas of performance during the pandemic: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. To ensure this balance will maximize their potential during practice and game play to be the best they can be.
“Physically I had been keeping up with workouts and going to shoot around at the cages with my two sisters and my friend, Stephanie,” said Kelanna. “Emotionally, I have never really been the type to tap into them because it’ll cause me a mental strain if I do dig into my emotions. First of all, I would like to thank my friends and family for keeping me distracted and sane during this pandemic because without them my mental state would’ve been in complete and utter shambles. Spiritually, I kept sage going through my house quite often to keep my nerves and myself calm, it had done so much justice for me.”
“Being a senior in high school especially during a global pandemic, is not good,” said Kelanna. “Not being able to see my friends or teachers nor experience my last year of high school the way I had wished makes me upset. So being able to have this opportunity and reminisce my years of playing sports and sharing it, I’m thankful for it to say the least.”
“Hopefully this year I am able to make more memories as I grow and continue on with my life achieving my future goals,” said Kelanna.
Photo Credit: E. Jourdain, Jr. Photography
Keep up the good work redlake girls basketball i enjoy watching yous play one day you bring the big trophy 🏆 home