By Rich Winter

605 Sports

ST. FRANCIS —  During the summer leading up to her senior year Mission resident Lesleen Makes Room For Them wasn’t sure where she was going to go to school. 

Having started at Todd County before playing for White River through her junior season, Makes Room For Them

“I was kind of undecided in the summertime and then Matilda Anderson (former St. Francis Indian School player) reached out and mentioned St. Francis,” Makes Room For Them said. “I was kind of iffy about it but then as soon as I got there and participated in the summer workouts I felt very welcome.” 

Having grown up in Mission, two of Makes Room For Them’s immediate influencers were Raven Cournoyer and Kelsie Herman, both of whom went over 1,000 career points. In 2019, Makes Room for Them watched Cournoyer and Herman lead the Falcons to a fifth-place finish at the Class A state tournament. 

Secretly she hoped that one day she would go over 1,000 career points, and late in her senior season she accomplished that feat. 

“It felt kinda good because I’ve been dreaming about that since I saw Raven and Kelsie do it,” she said. “I finally felt that feeling and I felt like I did something big. I felt like I made the whole Rosebud Reservation proud.”

Following her seventh-grade year, Makes Room For Them transferred to White River where she played on the junior varsity and was a manager on the 2021 Class B state championship team. 

While at White River, Makes Room For Them absorbed everything Caelyn Valandra and Maleighya Estes taught her. 

“The biggest thing I learned from those two is leadership and their games,” she said. “I learned how to play defense from watching Maleighya. I think with Caelyn it was because so many people doubted her because of her injuries. She gave me more advice on how to step up my game.”

Makes Room For Them found herself at St. Francis Indian School leading the fast-break with her baseball passes and scoring at just over 14 points per game. 

The season before she arrived in St. Francis the team finished 5-14. This year, with Makes Room For Them leading the way the Warriors ended the season with a 10-11 record. 

“I feel good about this season because no one believed in us and even knew anyone on the team,” she said. “We started the year with maybe two sets of parents going to games but as the year went on we had a lot more people coming to our games.” 

Makes Room For Them isn’t sure if she’ll continue playing basketball or venture into track. 

The senior has qualified for the South Dakota state cross-country meet twice and said she is talking to Haskell Indian Nations University about potentially going to school there.

Makes Room For Them is a Jingle Dancer and dances at pow wows during the summer. 

“It’s something I can do to express myself within my culture,” she said. “It is also something I can do with my family and that helps us get along.” 

Lesleen Makes Room For Them and her father Les are both traditional dancers - Courtesy Photo