Sumter High's Brown shows off on senior night en route to Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week

The Sumter High girls basketball team is on the tail end of a truly dominant regular season.

The Lady Gamecocks are a perfect 18-0 and ranked No. 1 in SCHSL 5A with a senior-heavy squad. They've only had one game that was decided by fewer than 10 points, a 45-38 win over Bishop Kenny, a 20-3 squad from Jacksonville, Florida.

Along the way, Sumter High has spread the wealth between their talented seniors and eighth-grader Araina Ross.

Last week, Rickell Brown got to step to the forefront.

After a solid showing against Conway, Brown lit it up on senior night, pouring in five threes in a 22-point performance. Her hot hand also helped the senior earn recognition as the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

"I'm thankful to have a great, supportive group around me, my teammates and family and the crowd," Brown said. "They really are supporters, and I'm thankful for that."

The Lady Gamecocks are in control of their own destiny at this point, and Brown is loving every minute of it.

"Right now, the atmosphere is really great. I love this group," she said. "Throughout our whole season, there's so much energy. Everybody really wants it. I feel like that's what's so great this year. Of course, we're trying to come back from losing last year, so this year, we just really want it."

Sumter High head coach Jeff Schaffer is impressed by the way Brown continues to work. She's a top-flight shooter, but Brown's been hot and cold from behind the arc this season. Schaffer loves the way she continues to work to improve but also finds other ways to contribute if her shot isn't falling.

"She is continuing to work on her game. She was struggling with her outside shot a little bit earlier this season, and it seems like that's starting to come around," Schaffer said. "There are a couple of little fundamental things that we're working on to tweak that a little bit. She's starting to see where the mistake was coming from and starting to correct it."

Last week was a prime example of how streaky shooting can be. Brown went 0-5 from long range in an 80-30 win over Conway but found other ways to contribute offensively by driving to the basket. She still finished with 14 points while adding some great defensive play with six steals, adding six rebounds and three assists.

"I know that I'm a shooter. I like to shoot, but when I have games like against Conway, I really don't try to force it anymore. I know I can contribute to my team by more than just putting up shots. I can drive to the basket, I can kick out assists, I can do all the little things to contribute to my team."

That mindset of finding ways to contribute, even when things aren't perfect, is exactly what Schaffer is looking for out of his players.

"I tell them all the time, if the shots are not falling, you've got to do something else," Schaffer said. "You've got to play defense, rebound or you have to get to the basket. She's starting to see that more and more every game.

"Especially in the Socastee game, but she's been so much more aggressive on the perimeter, and that's what we've been asking her to do," the SHS head coach continued about Brown's defense. "We're asking her to play a couple of different spots on defense because she's so athletic and we've got multiple different defenses that we use, and she's an integral part of that."

On senior night, Brown put on a show. She found her shot quickly, burying a total of five threes in the victory. Brown finished with 22 points, adding three rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. She said the key to success was simply letting the game come to her.

"I don't try to overthink it. I know I have a shot, so I just try to get myself as open as I can get," Brown said. "I don't try to force it; I just let it come to me.

"Going into that game, there was a lot of energy knowing it was our senior night. The atmosphere was great, so that really does a lot. When we see the crowd is for us and everyone is going crazy in the gym, that boosts us to do better on the court."

Last week also showed how dangerous Sumter High can be because of the way they spread the ball around. On any given night, someone is going to get hot, which takes a little pressure off everyone. They aren't relying on one player to go an average 20 points a game to come out on top.

"When all five players on the floor are getting after it and playing together, it makes us really hard to defend because we're athletic and quick," Schaffer said. "When you've got people on the perimeter that can get after it like that, it makes for very hard matchups for most teams. That's why we stress, it's not who gets 20 tonight, it's the W at the end of the night, and if you get 20, fine. If you don't, it's not that big of a deal."

Brown thinks that mindset is the key to bringing home a state championship trophy on March 1.

"Falling short the last few years makes us really want it," Brown said. "Our biggest idea is for us to really stay humble and stay poised knowing that any night can be anybody's night but that we're going to make it our night every night, including winning a state championship."