Bremen’s Shakila Brownlow has spent three varsity seasons working to be, in her words, the dog.
The senior forward has achieved that objective for the Braves, and the main reason has been unwavering confidence in her abilities. But she also credited her teammates and coaches.
“I found the confidence, knew I was going to be a dog, and that’s just how it goes,” Brownlow said in a matter-of-fact fashion. “When I go on the court, I know that I’m going to be a dog.”
A person without confidence doesn’t put up a triple-double like the 5-foot-7 Brownlow did Tuesday in a 56-25 win over host Eisenhower in a South Suburban Conference crossover in Blue Island.
Brownlow had a quite a night for Bremen (14-10, 6-5 SSC Red), producing 31 points, 12 rebounds and 11 steals and underscoring what coach Mike Thompson called the program’s best season in some 20 years.
And, oh, by the way? Brownlow recorded her 1,000th point Tuesday night — the big, red underline to a strong game, season and career for Bremen.
“She has continually improved,” Thompson said of Brownlow. “She puts in the work, the defensive stuff. She’s become very intelligent on defense.
“She does a great job at the end of games handling the basketball for us, where it becomes tricky.”
Eisenhower (1-19, 0-10 SSC Blue) proved to be tough out early before Brownlow got going.
Sophomore forward Kennedy Jackson was big on the boards for the Cardinals, grabbing 12 rebounds. Junior guard Amaya Adams added seven points and seven rebounds.
But back to Brownlow. Sure, the accolades afterward were nice, as were the game and career accomplishments. But to her, the team is what matters.
That’s even more important when considering a season where the Braves have defeated Shepard, Richards and Oak Forest for the first time in a long, long time.
“It feels good knowing we work hard in practice, trusting each other,” she said. “Whether we win or lose, we still feel good because we accomplished something.”
Confidence is particularly important when it comes to leadership, and Brownlow is set and solid in that department, according to fellow senior guard Victoria Brown.
“Shakila just cares about all of us so much,” Brown said. “We have so much trust in her. If anything goes wrong, she’s always there, no matter what.”
Thompson said he remembers Brownlow entering Eisenhower as a freshman, when she played on the JV team. Even then, she turned heads.
By the time she was a sophomore, she was starting on varsity for the Braves and willing to go up against, and hang with, big-time opponents like Oak Forest’s Janae Kent, who’s now at LSU.
Brownlow spent a lot of time on the floor Tuesday due to her aggressiveness and Eisenhower’s objective to slow her down. That didn’t work. She shot 15 of 23 from the free-throw line.
It’s what you get when you draw the opponent’s toughest defenders, which in this case was Eisenhower’s Jackson and Adams.
“Every night it’s like that — every night,” she said. “You just have to get through it.”
Learning to play her position was the culmination of tutelage from every coach she has played for.
That includes Thompson, who worked hard to teach her the nuances of the game, the X’s and O’s, but also the importance of leadership. She might be his best success story to date as a coach.
“She’s been everything I knew she could be when I first saw her as a freshman,” he said. “She kept battling and battling.”
After high school, Brownlow has big plans, but once again, it’s confidence that’s going to get her where she wants to go.
“I’m going to college and play,” she said. “I’m just waiting until the end of the season, get my thoughts together, finish talking to coaches and get my mindset to where I want to go.”
Gregg Voss is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
