Brooke Lindesmith has been preparing to be Crown Point’s primary defender against Noblesville junior Ashlynn Shade, a UConn recruit.
Such an assignment in the Class 4A Logansport Semistate on Saturday is a long way from this time a year ago for the junior guard, who was nearing the completion of her recovery from a torn ACL in her left knee.
Lindesmith views this matchup against Shade — who averages 20.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.6 steals for the Millers (23-4) — as an opportunity, even going so far as to describe it as “fun.”
“I’ll be chasing Ashlynn Shade around for most of the game,” she said. “It’ll be difficult, but it’s a chance to pressure her and try to get her to give up the ball.
“She’s just really good. Her jump shot’s really good — she can just hold it in the air, which is pretty cool. She’s really strong too. She can attack the basket. I just want to try to make it difficult for her to score.”
Crown Point coach Chris Seibert appreciates Lindesmith’s response.
“We’re going to be running waves of people at her,” he said of Shade. “But Brooke’s going to be one of the people who will be on her. I just liked that when we talked to her about that, she was up for the challenge.
“Brooke’s going to make it as hard as possible. We know (Shade’s) going to score. She’s a tremendous player. But Brooke’s a tenacious competitor, and she’s not going to back down from anybody.”
That sort of mentality served Lindesmith well in her comeback for Crown Point (24-3). After leading the junior varsity team in scoring as a freshman, she had been expected to be part of the Bulldogs’ rotation last season. But she suffered the knee injury during a workout in summer 2020 and missed the entirety of the state championship run.
“It was sad for me,” Lindesmith said. “But I was still happy to be there and pumped for my teammates. I was excited we were able to do it. The injury didn’t affect me during that time because I just wanted to focus on the team and helping with words of encouragement.”
Lindesmith was medically cleared right before Crown Point’s win against Brownsburg in the state championship game, and she participated in two practices. She finally returned to game action for the AAU season. The soreness she experienced in her knee during the early stages of that process has ceased.
“I was nervous over the summer, kind of scared, just playing in games,” Lindesmith said. “But I feel like I have a lot more confidence now. My shooting has gotten a lot better. I can get a lot of rebounds. I can go up strong to the basket without fading away from contact.
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“I came back like nothing ever happened to me. It feels like a good old knee again.”
Her performance has supported that notion. Lindesmith, Crown Point’s only non-senior starter and the only one who didn’t gain at least some starting experience last season, is averaging 5.3 points and 3.9 rebounds.
She scored a team-high 14 points in Crown Point’s win against Merrillville in the sectional final, and she was the only player besides star seniors Jessica Carrothers and Lilly Stoddard to score in the win against Lake Central in the regional final.
“It just feels great because last year I didn’t get the chance to be a part of it and play on the court,” Lindesmith said. “So I was really excited to help the team for sectionals and regionals, and I want to do everything I can for us to win semistate so we can go to state. That would be a great experience with this team.”
Lindesmith’s contributions go beyond the numbers, according to Seibert.
“Her confidence is up not only in her basketball skill but overall in her coming back from that injury, batting back from that,” he said. “You’ve seen her continue to grow. She’s out there playing fearlessly. She’s attacking the rim. She’s playing great defense. She’s a tremendous offensive rebounder. She just does all those little things that help us win games.
“To see her come back and flourish and do all the things we know she’s capable of doing, it’s been a great thing. She’s worked extremely hard to get back to where she is.”