Northwest Notes April 11, 2026

Former NIC standout named NJCAA's top women's basketball player

Esmeralda Enriquez, who led Eastern Arizona to its first women's basketball NJCAA championship, was named NJCAA Division I Women's Basketball Player of the Year for 2025-26.

The sophomore guard, who played at North Idaho College in 2024-25 (where she was known as Esmeralda Gallindo), averaged a team-high 15.7 points per game, along with 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. Enriquez shot 44.8% from behind the arc.

The Gila Monsters fell in their district championship but received an at-large bid into the national tournament, where they received the No. 2 overall seed. Eastern Arizona defeated Southwestern Illinois, Southern Idaho (which beat the Gila Monsters in November), Trinity Valley, and New Mexico in the championship game. 

Enriquez averaged 18.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals in the national tournament, including a team-high 16 in the national championship game. She was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Enriquez has not posted about committing to the four-year level, but according to Enriquez's Twitter account, she currently holds offers from Tennessee, Southern Mississippi, Fordham, Tennessee State, Seattle, Appalachian State, among others.