by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
Teegan Ewing is an enrolled Northern Cheyenne with Oglala Sioux and Blackfeet heritage. She was a three-sport senior student-athlete at St. Labre Indian School, Ashland, MT. Teegan competed in cross-country, basketball and track. She signed her national letter of intent with Rocky Mountain College (MT).
“My Indian name is Mo’ke’ut meaning ‘Water Lily’,” said Teegan. “My parents are Steve and Tammy Ewing and we live in Lame Deer, MT.”
“One of Teegan’s positive attributes is how coachable she is,” said mom Tammy Ewing. “Growing up with a dad that coached we were always in the gym. She listened to all his frustrations and celebrations after ever game. She knows the game of basketball very well. She understands all the basketball lingo and strategies from a coach’s perspective. I filmed all her games and after each game she would watch them no matter how late and analyze her game.”
“Her dad taught her how important it was to watch game film and learn the roles of all positions on the court. This helped her fill in where she was needed although she has always played the guard position. He gave her a lot of constructive criticism and that developed her mental toughness. I always tell her to pray before and after her game and most of all have fun,” added Tammy.
“I know every parent wants their children to succeed, and we don’t want to see them struggle,” said dad Steve. “Over the years we watched Teegan experience success and failure. Throughout her four years she was a top-notch athlete in cross-country, basketball and track and at the same time remained an honor student.”
“Teegan’s biggest attribute is her willingness to help, encourage, and be a team player,” said Steve. “It’s no surprise to me that she was a team captain on her teams. Being a coach’s kid has a lot to do with how she lives her life today. Teegan spent endless hours in the gym shooting, conditioning, and helping out. If she had a choice to do anything for the day, it was always going to the gym.”
“Being a coach’s kid means: being a fan of your fathers team, what being on time really means, no boyfriends intimidating Dad, and watching player development. For the good or bad this is how she was raised over 18 years of life.”
“Teegan is pursuing a degree in Elementary Education to become a teacher and a coach,” said Steve.
Teegan was a two-time All 3B Conference Second Team basketball selection and a three-time team captain in basketball, cross-country and track. She was named Ms. Hustle and received the Native American and District 2 Tournament Sportsmanship awards.
She was also a three time state cross-country meet qualifier with a 28th best finishing place as a freshman. Teegan earned the cross-country and track MVP awards at St. Labre School as a sophomore and junior. As a freshman at Colstrip, she was a state track meet qualifier in the one-mile, two-mile and mile relay. She was also the freshman MVP distance runner and Academic All-State with a 3.7 GPA.
“I was also recruited by Montana Tech to run for their women’s cross country team,” said Teegan.
“I learned at an early age that being respectful to others was very important in our family,” said Teegan. “I was always taught to respect elders and everyone around me. I know our Northern Cheyenne people pride themselves with being respectful. I believe this was a strength of mine while I was a team captain and I was always willing to help others.”
“My dad always said never get too high celebrating or too low in failure but to try to keep yourself centered,” said Teegan. “I always associated this with winning and losing. I also feel it has to deal with being thankful for everything that is shared or given to me.”
“Having a balance in my life with God is so important to me,” said Teegan. “I thank God daily for everything I have in my life, including my family and friends. I always pray for them to stay safe and healthy. I feel whatever I achieve is through God, and makes me a stronger person.”
“Living a lifestyle free from alcohol or drugs and holding myself accountable for my actions is being responsible,” said Teegan.
“My dad had the biggest influence on me in my life and in sports,” said Teegan. “It wasn’t easy working with my dad as a coach for cross-country, track and basketball. He pushed me hard in everything I did. At times we battled out on what I felt I was doing right. He never let me slide or gave up on me when times were tough. My mom always wanted me to just have fun while I played and gave me the soft support I needed. She was my biggest fan who filmed all of my games that I stayed up late and watched what I needed to work on. I am very thankful for my parents always being there. Also my grandparents on my mother’s side, David and Dominga Bixby, who were always supportive of me getting good grades and went and watched all my events.”
“I am very fortunate to have met Henry and Leesa Pretty On Top,” said Teegan. “Henry played for my dad’s travel team in high school. Henry and Leesa picked me up on their traveling team called MT Fierce when I was in seventh grade. We played 30-50 games each off-season going into my senior year. Without them believing in me and giving me the time on the court, I most likely wouldn’t be on the stage I am right now. I give them a lot of credit in helping me develop in all aspects of the game. I truly love them and all the girls I played with. I am extremely proud to call them part of my basketball family.”
“My grandfather Lynnwood Ewing always pushed me to do my very best,” said Teegan. “He supported and critiqued me on every game I played. He was a well-known independent basketball player in his prime. We always joked about his glory days at Fort Hall, ID. His last award was the oldest player award at 68 years old.”
“I am very thankful to have had a coach like Ms. Joan Jilka,” said Teegan. “She cared about all her athletes and was funny at times. But the most influential factor was how she expected me to perform. Coach Jilka continues to go on runs at 4:00 am on a daily basis, and this was a big inspiration to me. She was passionate about running and taught us about staying healthy, staying clean, and keeping active.”
“I first met Teegan Ewing while walking one evening,” said Joan Jilka, St. Labre Indian School Head Cross Country and Track Coach. “Teegan was at the track completing a workout under the close supervision of her father. We briefly visited but all I could think of was, ‘This is a hard-working dedicated young lady!’ Fast forward one year and Teegan transferred to St. Labre Catholic High School.”
“I have had the privilege of teaching and coaching Teegan for three years. Her work ethic has not wavered as she puts in 100% in workouts/practice and in academics. It’s always fun to watch her outwork everyone on a grueling cross-country hill workout. She hammers it and has the ‘never quit’ mentality. Teegan’s off-season work proved she deserved to be on the varsity XC team all three years at St. Labre,” said Joan.
“Not only does Teegan’s work ethic stand out but also the leadership and camaraderie she has with teammates,” said Joan. “Teegan will use her contagious smile and laugh to fire up the team at the start line while adding a unique dance move allowing everyone to relax. She is always the first one to congratulate her teammates, girls or boys, after a race and is always positive regardless of the race results. As many teachers and coaches say, ‘I wish I had a whole classroom or entire team of this individual’. I can confidently say, Teegan Ewing fits that statement.”
“Ann Favel was a St. Labre Indian School assistant coach that was very supportive of everything I did,” said Teegan. “She always pushed me to be my best and to improve on the fundamentals to get me better.”
“I am very thankful for Coach Andy Elkshoulder for believing in me over the three years I played for him,” said Teegan. “He allowed me to play in his system that I enjoyed. His system was fun and exciting.”
“I’ve coached Teegan since her sophomore year in school,” said Andy Elkshoulder, St. Labre Indian School head girl’s basketball coach. “She’s very coachable, easy to coach, good attitude, never in a bad mood. She was one of my captains and is a hard worker. Never tires out from hard workouts. She was my best defensive player. She’ll fit in well at a college level basketball.”
“Tiger Scalpcane, girls’ basketball coach and Athletic Director at Lame Deer HS and my uncle, was very supportive in my basketball career,” said Teegan. “He always invited me to play in open gyms, tournaments, and treasure state classic teams. I was always allowed to practice in the Lame Deer HS Gym until I scored five three-pointers in one game against his Lame Deer team in the first quarter. We still laugh about this every time I play against his teams. He was always looking out for me.”
“Teegan was a going to be a junior in the upcoming school year,” said August “Tiger” Scalpcane, uncle and head varsity girls’ basketball coach at Lame Deer HS. “She asked me if she could work out with us and play with my Lame Deer girls’ basketball team at the Big Sky State Games (BSSG) in Billings MT, and I decided to let her play with us. She was attending our off-season practices and workouts throughout the summer before the State Games that year. She expressed to me that she wanted to learn the uptempo style of basketball that our team runs. At the time both her father and I knew she could play and were trying to figure out how to get her to find that fire we both knew she had in her.”
“We played our first game at BSSG’s and I noticed when she would get the ball she would never shoot. She would always look for the pass or if she was on the fast break there were times she would slow down and set up on a 3-on-1 fast break and that drove us nuts, especially knowing we had two other girls filling the lanes ready to attack the basket, because that is what I instill in my players,” added August.
“I talked to her about it after the first game,” said August. “I told her when you’re open you need to shoot the ball, and when you are leading a fast break with two players filling each side of the lane you need to get the ball up the court with a give and go especially when there are three of you against one player on defense.”
“We get into the second game and it was starting off to be a close game and again she would not shoot the ball when she was open, standing in one place pivoting around looking for someone to pass to,” said August. “I called a timeout right away and I got after her. I told her we don’t need her on the court when she doesn’t shoot. I meant she could sit on the bench and look to pass to someone there.”
“We came out of that time out and Teegan scored a game high 24 points and we wont that game against a strong Billings Senior HS team. The next two games she averaged more than 20 points and led the fast breaks hard and attacked the bucket every time. I was so proud of her and I apologized for getting after her after our last game. She said she was glad I said that to her and it made her play basketball. The downfall of that day is she played hard against me during the regular season. Each game she scored more than 20 points and her team won every contest against us the next two years,” added August.
“Teegan is always positive, works super hard and is very coachable and just goes out and plays hard every game I had the opportunity to coach her,” said August.
“Currently, I am following the Rocky Mountain College (RMC) women’s training program,” said Teegan. “I continue running with a variation of hills, sprints, and distance. I also do form shooting, one and two dribble shooting, and daily dribbling skills.”
“Just as any player, keeping confidence at the right level is so important to achieving anything we do,” said Teegan. “There have been times this year when I didn’t shoot the ball as well as I wanted but I never gave up. I had to keep practicing to get my shot down.”
“I always prayed before, during, and after games,” said Teegan. “Always being thankful for every opportunity to play and improve my game.”
“I tend to focus my mind on the game and only the players on the court,” said Teegan. “I try my best to block out the crowd or anything that can be distracting. I don’t show my emotions during the game when I’m struggling or having a good game.”
“During the pandemic, I stay home with my younger sister Brookley,” said Teegan. “She is an upcoming athlete so we are quite competitive playing basketball and running. I tend to work on my homework and listen to music and staying home and keeping safe.”
“I encourage athletes to keep working hard at everything they do when they are chasing down their dreams,” said Teegan. “I wasn’t always the best player on the court, or at running. However, I was always willing to put in work by conditioning, lifting weights, attending basketball camps, playing in 30 to 50 basketball games in the off season, and running in 5k meets throughout the summer. I was very thankful to have coaches that believed in me. I always think back to when I was a sophomore and having goals of making it to the State Tournament. We achieved this as a team and I am thankful for all my teammates who made it happen.”
“I am fortunate to have been selected to play collegiate women’s basketball at Rocky Mountain College,” said Teegan. “Anything is possible when you’re focused on what you want to achieve by putting in the time and doing every little thing you can to get it done.”
Photo Credit: Tommy B. Robinson
