Brush’s Tatiana Mason shoots a free throw against Gilmour on Dec. 21, 2023. (Paul DiCicco – For The News-Herald)
For a young team, Brush has strong chemistry.
The Arcs share the ball at a high level and play complete team basketball. A big part of developing chemistry like this was last year’s experience for freshmen Tatiana Mason and Chaniyra McDowell-Isaacs. Now sophomores, they’re leading the charge on and off the court.
“Those two freshmen were in the fire last year,” Brush coach Demarris Winters said. “Our younger girls got the experience and now they’re the leaders and pushed into the forefront. They’re doing a great job, they’re phenomenal players. They’re getting better and better each possession on the court. This team is really good, they all like each other and believe in each other.”
The Arcs have made it a point to practice ball movement. When they step onto the floor to play in the summer and in the regular season, it pays off. This team is talented but the ability to jell together takes it to another level.
“We have a chemistry together and everything is going good,” McDowell-Isaacs said. “It’s been very important, our coach tells us every day how important it is. We work on a lot of ball movement, basically all of our passes are quick.”
Mason and McDowell-Isaacs play big roles, but Brush has depth down the line. Junior Jakalyn Brown is tough in the paint and on the glass at 6-2. Tatiana’s sister, freshman Nyla Mason, is a starter getting her first varsity minutes. The Arcs also have three seniors in Shianne Lipscomb, Nyree Johnson and Keyarra Shields to rely on.
“We’re way more comfortable than last year from the experience,” Mason said. “We have a lot of chemistry together. We know where we’re going to be at and where we’re going to go. We have that chemistry and we trust each other too.”
Brush likes to play fast and turn defense into offense on the other end. Most opponents aren’t going to be able to keep up the pace, so the typical game plan is to slow down the tempo. The problem in facing the Arcs is that they can also execute in a half-court game with their passing and cutting. Being a multi-dimensional team makes them that much more of a tough out.
“Most of the time when you’re an athletic and fast team, other people think that you can’t execute. We can,” Winters said. “We work on it every day, offensively and defensively. That’s how we’re going to win any championships, you have to be able to play defense and execute when you need to. We’re not going to be able to run everybody up and down. In the event that we can’t, we have a lot of sets.”
To continue making strides this offseason, Brush competed this weekend at Midwest Live in Sandusky. Against a tough schedule, the Arcs faired well with a 3-1 record.
The action started on June 14 against Division I state runner-up Springboro. The Arcs trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half, but a 22-2 run sparked them to a comeback 44-38 win.
The second game against Division II district finalist Unioto resulted in a convincing 54-39 victory that was never in doubt. The second day started about the same as Brush cruised past fellow Division I district champion Olentangy, 39-23.
Paired up with back-to-back Division III state champion Columbus Africentric in the final game of the weekend, it fell in a close one, 36-33. Against good competition, Brush stood out.
“It’s good stuff because it builds confidence,” Winters said. “We think we can compete, but when you come out here and play against these teams, then you know. There was a sour taste in our mouths of not making a state run. We thought we could, but we lost to a real good team in Magnificat. We have to stay ready and get better.”