In the waning moments of overtime of the Missouri women’s basketball team’s downward spiral against Kansas State on Sunday, senior guard RaeShara Brown heaved a wild, desperate three-point attempt into a wind of defeat. Somehow, some way, the shot went in. Little and late as it was, the sinker gave the on-edge Tigers a sign of life.
After the final seconds ticked off the clock and the Tigers did indeed blow what was a 12-point lead to fall to the Wildcats, Brown sulked silently – almost lifelessly – off the court. There simply was no breaking the spell of letdown the Tigers star had cast upon herself in the moment.
RaeShara Brown is a competitor.
In her final season donning a black and gold uniform, the Little Rock, Ark., native is Missouri’s unrivaled leader in play and word. She’s the fire that doesn’t die, the shot that keeps on falling and the pulse that just won’t go away. As the team’s leader in every major statistical category, Brown has been all Missouri could ask for and often times more than her opponents can handle.
“She’s just such a great talent,” said Kansas State coach Deb Patterson, who claimed her defensive gameplan revolved around taking Brown out of the game. “She’s so talented that you can show two-two and she’ll still blow by it. That’s what the great ones in this league do.”
Amid the struggles of coach Robin Pingeton’s first season of rebuilding at Missouri, Brown has embraced the role of the big show for the young Tigers (11-12, 3-6 Big 12 Conference). Leading Missouri in scoring in 15 of the team’s 23 games this season, Brown has established herself as the outlet through which all good things happen for the Tiger offense.
“She’s the pulse of our team; as she goes, we’ll go,” Pingeton said. “That’s our expectation of her and I think she knows it and has embraced it.”
Perhaps Brown’s most dazzling performance came during the school’s peak of uncertainty amid last week’s record 18-inch snowfall that all but deserted the campus and made managing the rigors of a collegiate basketball career all the more challenging. Sticking true to her ability to rise up when times are toughest, Brown exploded in what Pingeton called a “glorified pick-up game” against Nebraska last Wednesday in scoring the team’s final 12 points en route to a 76-69 victory over Nebraska.
Maybe even stronger than her on-court performance is the respect Brown has for her teammates – a sense of regard reciprocated by her fellow members decked in black and gold.
“Rae is a big part of our team,” junior forward BreAnna Brock said. “She’s kind of like what I want to be as a senior.”
In what has been an up and down first year, Pingeton knows this all too well.
“The thing that I’m most proud about… is her leadership and the way she’s embraced that role,” Pingeton said. “There’s a certain tone you have to talk to your teammates with. Leaders (have) to be able to build them up. I think she’s embraced that role unbelievably and that’s what sticks out to me with Rae.”
In living the life of a leader, Brown has expressed one attribute more prominently than any other: humility. Out of a drive to excel as a teammate before an individual, the senior is always sure to give credit elsewhere before crowning herself.
“I have confidence in my teammates,” Brown said. “As a scorer, you want other players on your team to score because it makes it easier on you. If you just have one person scoring on a team, nine times out of ten you’re not going to win the game.”
The added dimension of leadership and professionalism makes Brown an all-around talent rarely found in the spotlighted, star-driven game of basketball — and Missouri is taking every advantage of their veteran gem.
In the words of Pingeton, “She’s a special player.”