Chesterton’s Novea Brandon is making the best of an unusual situation.
The 5-foot-9 guard is the only junior on a team predominated by sophomores and freshmen. Brandon is a captain along with guard/forward Allison Van Kley and forward Addison Glossinger, the only two seniors.
“It’s a lot of responsibility,” Chesterton coach Candy Wilson said of Brandon’s role. “She has a big influence because these girls are all coming back next year. She has a big responsibility, and she’s been doing a great job on and off the court.
“She’s really stepped up this year. We’re a very young team, so that’s pretty big for us.”
Brandon has embraced that responsibility.
“We just try to bring a strong leadership role to the girls,” she said. “In practice, we try to give them as much support as possible because stuff like this can be hard, mentally challenging for younger girls to have to step up in such a huge role, playing against a bunch of older girls.
“Having leadership, communicating, always supporting them, those are big things. That brings us together as a group and also makes sure they’re OK mentally and physically. We do our best to try to be role models.”
Brandon has been successful, according to sophomore forward Reese Dilbeck.
“She’s definitely a leader,” Dilbeck said. “She really helps everybody and tells them what their role is and what they need to do.”
Brandon also has produced on the court for the Trojans (11-5, 3-1), averaging 9.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and team highs of 3.6 assists and 3.8 steals before a Duneland Athletic Conference game against Merrillville on Friday. She has been a primary point guard while sharing some of those duties with sophomore guard Lindsi McGuffey, who is averaging a team-high 11.8 points.
“She brings a lot of energy,” McGuffey said of Brandon. “She likes to be a menace on defense, get in people’s heads, which is fun to see. She’s an offensive threat, for sure. Her shot’s good. She knows where to get the ball to people.”
Brandon also started last season, posting 4.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals, mostly playing off the ball.
Her more prominent position this season is part of a dramatically different roster. Senior point guard Kenedi Bradley, a Butler track recruit who was in position to become the team’s career scoring leader, suffered an ankle injury; senior post Tenley Davis, a Loyola volleyball recruit, opted to focus on that sport; and three other seniors didn’t return.
“I’ve definitely improved on my defense and just handling the ball, handling the pressure way better,” Brandon said. “Defense is just as important as offense. But on the offensive side, I’ve been able to shoot the ball way better this year.
“And then just being able to be a good point guard, seeing the floor, handling the ball, handling pressure in big moments and just using my voice to help everyone get situated.”
Wilson, who is in her second season at her alma mater, has been impressed by Brandon’s effort.
“She is really working so hard on her game,” Wilson said. “When last year ended, she didn’t miss a beat. She’s been working on her shot, she’s been working on her leadership, just playing as much as she can play. She’s just a hard worker and trying to improve. She wants to play at the next level, and she’s giving herself that opportunity.”
Brandon hopes the Trojans will have an opportunity to compete for their first sectional title since 2011. Rival Valparaiso is the undisputed team to beat.
“We’re in a pretty good spot,” Brandon said. “We’ve been the underdog the whole season, and it’s really just proving ourselves against the really good teams. We’re still just trying to get the small details, get really defined and specific on how we want things, because if we get those small details covered, it will make us that much better.”
The Trojans’ future could be even more promising.
“We’re definitely young, but we do have smart girls,” Brandon said. “Things just take time. Skill-wise, we have a really, really talented group of girls. Really skilled, really fast, long, athletic — you name it. We have a really strong, really talented group with much, much, much potential.
“We had a few girls who didn’t come back, so it was really only a couple of girls who played varsity, so everyone has had to step up. The good thing about the team this year is that we’re so competitive and everyone here wants to be here, which makes it fun because we all know this is where we want to be. Just have fun with it, be competitive, and that’s how we’ll grow. We’ve already made great growth and improvements, and we’ve been doing great this season. Next season is going to be amazing, the stuff we can do.”
