COLORADO SPRINGS – Forget about the basketball for a second. The Oklahoma Sooners are just getting a kid next year.
The fact that that she stands 6-foot-3 and has averaged 17 points and nearly 12 rebounds per game in her three-plus years as a varsity player at Pine Creek is just an added bonus.
Teams have struggled to contain her this season as the Eagles have looked like one of the dominant teams in all of Class 6A girls basketball. This year alone, Stewart is averaging 19.2 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. And she does it all with a smile on her face. Not the arrogant smile of a basketball player who believes she’s the best player on the floor (which she often is). It’s the smile of a teenager who looks like she’s having fun playing a game with her friends.
“Anytime you walk into a gym if she’s there, your mood changes,” coach Janean Jubic said. “Your vibe changes and you shift into a whole new mood. If something was wrong [in the world], there’s nothing wrong anymore because she just makes you laugh and smile. It’s awesome.”
The Eagles are 14-2 this year with just a one-point loss to Air Academy and a 16-point loss to Highlands Ranch and legendary coach Caryn Jarocki. Outside of those two hiccups, this is a team that looks poised to advance to the Denver Coliseum for the first time in program history. Stewart’s play is obviously a big reason, but she’s quick to point out that she can’t be as productive as she is without the chemistry the Eagles share as friends.
“We all want what’s best for each other,” Stewart said. “You can see that whole dynamic on the court. We trust each other and we love each other. We give everything on the floor for each other and that’s what has pushed us to play our best basketball.”
Last season, a loss to Rock Canyon ended Pine Creek’s playoff run, but the Eagles lost just one senior from that team. Looking ahead, this is a team that understands the pain of getting ousted from the postseason too early and they approach each day as another opportunity to prepare for the next task.
“Our coaches hold us to a very high standard and we need it,” Stewart said. “We practice very hard against each other and we make sure that we’re ready for our next opponent no matter who it is.”
They started the season with a long winning streak, but fell by one point to Air Academy on Jan. 10. Their second loss of the season came to Highlands Ranch just four days later.
In a way, those two losses were necessary as Stewart and her teammates now understand certain things about how their opponents will plan for them when the playoffs begin and each game gets a little more difficult.
“We had a little slump and we got a better understanding of what other teams were going to try and do against Brooklyn,” Jubic said. “In return,, through our film sessions, the rest of our players now understand [what that will be] and now that we’ve figured it out, we’re rolling again.”
The Eagles still have a few tough games ahead, notably two against league rival Doherty, but they still very much look the part of a team that could experience playing at the Denver Coliseum in early March.
As for Stewart, she’ll naturally find ways to score and grab rebounds but what makes her a standout player and a great teammate is being able to contribute in a variety of ways. She’ll pickup a steal or block a shot here and there. But her favorite thing to do when she’s not scoring her own points is getting the ball to her teammates and watching them finish on the offensive end.
“I love getting good passes to my teammates and seeing them score,” Stewart said. “It brings the energy up even more. I love sharing the ball.”
When Stewart is at her best, basketball at Pine Creek is booming.
And before she makes her way to Norman, Okla., Boomer Brooklyn wants to take Pine Creek to new heights.
