It may seem that Kaneland’s Kendra Brown has been able to shoot like she does since she was a kid.
It didn’t completely come naturally, but it didn’t take long for her to get the hang of it.
“I wasn’t really a shooter when I was little,” Brown said. “My dad helped me work on it, so after a good year, I got pretty good at it. Confidence helped a lot.”
The junior guard has carried that throughout her career, nearly setting a program record for 3-pointers last season.
She kept it going Monday night, scoring 12 of the Knights’ first 14 points as they pulled away for a 43-27 nonconference win over host Metea Valley in Aurora.
Buoyed by a big early lead, Brown didn’t need to do too much more heavy lifting, finishing with a game-high 16 points for Kaneland (16-8). Sam Kerry added 10 points and Lexi Schueler had eight. Arainna Hammons scored eight points for Metea (2-14).
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Ever since Kaneland coach Brian Claesson has been around Brown, though, the one constant has been that stellar outside shot.
“That’s one thing we knew we can count on from her,” Claesson said. “She’s always been a shooter. She’s kind of working through some shoulder injuries this season, but that hasn’t really slowed her down.”
That was certainly the case Monday. Kaneland took a 20-9 lead after the first quarter, and Brown was the catalyst. She hit a pair of 3-pointers among her 12 early points.
“She’s done that a lot this season,” Claesson said. “It may not be the beginning of the game, but she’ll have a stretch where she’ll score 10 or 12 points.
“It kind of gets everybody else going too. It’s nice for me to see.”
Brown said she loves being in the position to provide that spark, especially early in the game.
“I’m just trying to get my team started,” Brown said. “First quarter, you’ve got to start tough. You just have to be locked in. Definitely scoring that much in a quarter is a good feeling.
“I’m just working to get more.”
With the shooting touch already honed, Claesson wanted Brown to work on strengthening other parts of her game coming into this season.
“I wanted her attacking more,” Claesson said. “I didn’t want her to just be a 3-point shooter. I wanted her to be a complete player. She’s been one of our best rebounders. That’s been one of the biggest things. We’re not a big team at all and she’s probably our strongest girl.
“She’s kind of embraced that role. That’s been good to see.”
Something else Brown said she wanted to add to her game is ball handling.
With Schueler, the Knights’ point guard, set to graduate after this season, Brown will be adding those duties next winter.
“It makes us a lot more diverse,” Brown said. “I have the ability to bring up the ball. With her being a senior, that’s probably going to be my position next year.”
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Kaneland led by as many as 21 points. The Mustangs couldn’t climb back into the game.
“We struggle to put the ball in the basket,” Metea coach Keith McIntosh said. “There’s just no way around that. And we struggle to rebound. Those two things are a bad combination. But we’re going to compete.”
Brown and Kaneland are in the midst of a four-game week, including a pair of conference games.
That’s the immediate goal for the Knights, but their goals extend beyond that as well.
“We have to focus on these games one game at a time,” Brown said. “With the playoffs coming up, we’re still trying to focus on winning conference, but our goal is to win a regional.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.