Storm guard Malia Mose takes basketball future to WNMU

RIO RANCHO — A Storm is coming to Silver City, New Mexico.

A Cleveland Storm, that is.

Last week, senior guard Malia Mose of the Cleveland High School girls basketball team announced the next chapter of her basketball career: becoming a Western New Mexico University Mustang.

“It’s always been my top choice,” Mose said. “I actually went to a tournament, and I had received another offer from Ottawa University (Arizona) at that time, but when I came back, I went to their (WNMU’s) team camp, and it just went really well. Then, they told me when I could get my official visit, and that was such a great experience. I love the coaches, love the campus, and the players are amazing. Ultimately, I made my decision to choose Western.”

Every college recruitment process is different. Some players go through months upon months of trying to find the right home for them, but even through different offers and conversations, her mind always came back to the purple and gold.

“I would say (it was an easy decision),” Mose said. “What you feel when you’re over there, if you feel at home, it helps a lot with the decision.”

Mose says she sees the fit not just in the school, but on the court with the team as well, citing a roster filled with players who have a similar play style to her game.

Western New Mexico is a program looking to build a winning culture after a 4-22 season in 2024. Adding a player like Mose, who scored double figures in 12 of her 26 games last year, looks to be a step in the right direction.

“We all have the same goal; we are all pushed to strive for the same thing,” Mose said. “So I believe that the transition from high school ball to college ball will be really good.”

Her college future may be set, but don’t write off Mose’s senior year. Cleveland is looking to get over the hump of hovering around .500 to competing at a state title level, with some fun to be had along the way for the seniors in their “final ride.”

“I’m here to have fun; it’s our last ride, so it should be very fun,” Mose said. “We’re reaching to go to state, so every practice that we have, every game that we have, we’re going to work. To give our best and give our 110% every time.”

No matter how this season goes, Mose says this announcement sort of feels like an award. A goal is checked off the list, but the work doesn’t stop there.

“I feel like it’s not really that you reached your goal, it’s more of you’re still pushing to reach new goals,” Mose said. “But it feels amazing, and I worked so hard to get to this point, and I’m going to work even harder to keep striving for the best I can be.”

Mose and the Storm will open up the 2025 season on Dec. 9 vs Santa Fe.