Heards, Heritage and Hoops

For Stailee Heard and her family, Nov. 7 in Gallagher-Iba Arena will undoubtedly be a significant night for a family which has spent countless nights on and around a basketball court.

Stailee and her Cowgirl teammates will welcome her sister, Tyla, and Oral Roberts to town for a 6:30 p.m. showdown between two in-state schools separated by a little more than one hour.

"We are both where we wanted to be. We had big dreams for ourselves to play at a high level," Stailee said. "Playing against my sister this year means so much to me because it is her first year in college and just a full circle moment for us. I never thought we would play against each other in college."

While the contest would be memorable for the Heard family due to the obvious storyline. The matchup with ORU will bring extra significance as the Cowgirls will host their annual N7 game that same evening.

OSU is among a select group of schools to participate in Nike's N7 Fund initiative, which focuses on helping youth in Native American and Indigenous communities in North America lead healthier, happier, and more successful lives.

For the occasion, the Cowgirls will substitute out their traditional orange and black for turquoise uniforms to pay tribute to the state's rich Native American heritage.

Registered as Creek, Sac and Fox, Seneca-Cayuga, Wyandotte and Seminole, some of Stailee's favorite memories growing up were spent celebrating her heritage.

"My mom has done a really good job of including us and keeping us close to our heritage and our culture. As we grew up, we loved to be around it and were around it all the time," Stailee said. "My grandma and my aunt, my cousins, we just loved being around powwows, just being around family, just getting to run around and dance and do what we love."

"If you are Native American, I feel like that is a big part of your life and you have to embrace it."

For Tyla, who is embarking on her freshman season with the Golden Eagles, getting to share the floor with her sister on such a special occasion is equally important.

"Nike N7 signifies so much more than just jerseys and a game. To me, it represents little girls having big dreams of playing in front of her friends and family," she said.

"Representing our schools, state, culture and families. Indigenous people have made it, we are capable of doing big things and achieving our goals. We represent the past and the future."

Stailee echoes the sentiments of her sister and embraces the platform basketball has given her to inspire future generations.

"It means so much to me. It is more than a jersey game. It is showing the little ones that we can do it. Indigenous people are able to do it and we want to show them, their families and friends that with our hard work."

For sisters who grew up competing in card games, board games or one-on-one battles on the driveway, taking the historic white maple floor inside Gallagher-Iba Arena will undoubtedly be an unforgettable moment for all to see.

"We are competitors at everything, not just sports. I have always looked up to my sister and now I'm looking eye to eye with her, In front of hundreds of family or friends," Tyla said.

"It doesn't get much better than this and it is a testament of our hard work paying off and it's going to be a lot of fun."

For Stailee, the magnitude of the game and everything surrounding it, has not fully set in. However, like Tyla, she is embracing the opportunity.

"It is going to be so fun and I am really looking forward to it. Having so much family there, having just my sister on the other team and having the N7 game, I can't even wrap my head around it right now."

Attending a school that embraces her heritage is not lost on Stailee either. OSU's N7 involvement is something she says was sparked by a former Cowboy and current NBA standout.

"It means the world to me because I don't think any other school in the country actually celebrates like OSU does. I think that all started with (current Golden State Warrior) Lindy Waters. He is also native American and takes pride in his culture. I am just glad to follow in those footsteps and that they have kept that tradition going."

Like Waters, Stailee has excelled on the hardwood, putting together one of the most productive campaigns ever by a Cowgirl freshman last season. The Sapulpa, Okla., native was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman Team after averaging 12.9 points per contest, the third-best scoring average ever by an OSU freshman.

Entering her sophomore year, she is looking for more as she continues to grow into her leadership role.

"I have a lot of confidence from last year because we are down bodies and I played a lot of minutes and I think I had to grow up and become a leader as a freshman," Stailee said.

"This year, I have to be more of a leader vocally because I have already been here for a year and all of our newcomers come in and do not have the experience that I have, so I have to be able to do that for this team."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Stailee Heard

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