STARKVILLE — In her final year of high school basketball, Brittany Brown is beginning to understand the difference between leading scorer and leader.
Last week, in a long stretch of the third quarter against West Point, Brown was unable to get started offensively, but her Lady Jackets maintained the lead en route to a 59-45 victory. That eight-minute stretch was a big step forward in the eyes of coach Kristie Williams in Brown’s evolution as a leader.
“She has an understanding this year that her game will be there,” Williams said. “At some point, she’ll get her production, but the success of our season will be her ability to get her teammates to another level and reach their high level of play.”
In the third quarter, Brown had three assists, two offensive rebounds, and defended her position to satisfaction of Williams, who stresses defense to her players.
“She’s always had a knack for rebounding, and during drills she’s always at a level where I can go out and tell the other players, ‘Do it like her’,” Williams said. “That’s when this type of team becomes more enjoyable to coach.”
The Lady Jackets (4-2) also can rely on Janay Townsel and forward Tiffany Henderson to handle the scoring load if opponents target Brown, a senior.
“We have told them as a coaching staff that if you have an open shot then they have the green light to take it because we will not ever run it through one player,” Williams said.
Brown has had double-figure scoring efforts in every game and is averaging 17.5 points in past four contests. She credits an offseason of working on her perimeter shot to avoid defenders lagging off her from 12-15 feet from the basket for her increased production.
Williams said Brown’s ability to slash to the basket is unique. She said many younger players will normally will try to avoid contact, but she said the aggressive nature of the 5-foot-8 Brown is an asset to a frontcourt that is one of the biggest in Class 5A.
“She doesn’t mind getting physical in the paint and getting to the free-throw line,” Williams said. “A lot of female athletes will be afraid or shy away from contact, but that’s not her game.”
After a disappointing finish to the 2010-11 season, Williams hasn’t had to question the effort and desire of her leaders, including Brown, this season.
“We’ve said some one-on-one conversations about this being her last year, and it’s been so wonderful how she’s helped the young players by her example of how to do things,” Williams said. “These seniors really made a vow to make sure the program is better off when they leave it to different young ladies for the future.”
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