ORANGE, Calif. — Chapman women's basketball guard Makena Nitao embodies radical acceptance.

"She always has the best habit of moving on to the next play," said Head Coach Carol Jue. "You need to forget it, and move on to the next play."

One play will forever be etched into Nitao's mind. On Dec. 28, 2024, she made a non-contact cut she's done a thousand times. Only this time, her knee collapsed out from underneath her. 

"I saw her go down and I already knew what it was," Chapman Athletic Trainer Gabby Leveratto said. 

Nitao tore her Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL).

She admitted there was a moment of sadness when she realized it was torn. But she also radically accepted her new fate.

"There's nothing I can do about it at this point," Nitao said. "I just have to look forward and do my rehab and get it all done."

She played her first game just nine months later. 

Not half bad for someone who just suffered her first major injury.

Nitao was a multi-facided athlete growing up who dabbled in dance, soccer and softball. However, her dad told her to specialize in middle school and focus on one activity. 

"You have to be good at one thing," Nitao's father said. "You don't want to be average at everything."

She found herself aligned with basketball immediately. That commitment set her on a path to play for Hillsdale High School, local recreational leagues and high level club basketball in her hometown of San Mateo. She essentially practiced, trained and played basketball around the clock. 

Suffice it to say, it paid off because it helped her land at Chapman to play NCAA Division III basketball and remain healthy, at least, until late 2024.

Prior to the injury, Jue gave Nitao the nickname "10 second Tom". It references a character from 50 First Dates who has a memory that lasts about 10 seconds.

"Most people stop life and she doesn't," Jue said. "She's always moving forward and I appreciate that." 

Nitao knew she had one option: radical acceptance. Luckily she's "10 second Tom" and was already wired to think that way.

She started after the injury was confirmed and it became an essential step to her swift recovery. 

"She was in the trainer's office almost everyday showing up for herself," Leveratto said. "She's willing to be pushed. She's up for the challenge, even if it makes her nervous." 

Nitao had surgery soon thereafter and recovered throughout the rest of the 2024-25 season before returning home for the summer for a bulk part of her rehab. When she returned for the 2025-26 school year, it became apparent how quickly she was healing. Leveratto knew she could make her season debut sooner rather than later. 

"Mindset is everything, and she just had the mindset," Leveratto shared. "She had the drive." 

On Nov.10th, the Panthers opened up their season against Pacific Lutheran at home. Nitao also made her season debut. It appeared as if she had not missed a beat. Now, she averages 10.5 points, two assists and two rebounds per game in 24.3 minutes. Since returning to play, she has never even worn a knee brace. Many athletes coming back from the injury will wear one early on to help boost their confidence. Nitao never even explored it.

"I didn't feel I needed it," she said. "I was only in the big brace for as long as I needed to walk while on crutches. But once my doctors told me I didn't need it in rehabilitation, I just never wore a brace." 

A result of the '10 second Tom' mindset.

Nitao admits that she radically accepted the physical rehab, but mentally struggled to know her role as a teammate on the sideline. 

"Questions went through my head such as 'How would I work into the system now,'" Nitao said. "Would I be able to come back at that same level I stopped playing at?" 

She looked to teammate Hana Speaks, who is also currently sidelined, to find purpose yet again. 

Speaks is an instrumental person not only to Nitao, but to the entire athletics program. Despite being out for the last two years, Speaks has made such impact, that she won the Chapman Athletics Character Award in 2025. She was nominated for the award by athletics staff, then Chapman Student Athletes voted on her to win it.

"Being out and having Hana on the sideline with me helped me so much," Nitao said. "She's someone who uplifts everyone. At a time when I was injured and not all there mentally or physically, having Hana there was really uplifting."

On Jan. 28, 2026, 13 months to the day after the injury, Nitao looked more dominant than ever on the court. She went for 23 points in 31 minutes against Redlands. On the sidelines, Speaks was cheering loud enough to be heard from across the gym. 

They set the standard for their program: there's always a place for leaders who radically accept their fate on court, and finds value, even on the sidelines.