City of Basketball Love

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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The more she got to know about Holy Family, the more Ella Brown got to like.

Things came together relatively quickly for the Northeast Philly-based CACC program and Brown, a senior at Pennridge, starting in the summer while she was playing for her Penn Fever HSGL club team. The Tigers coaching staff liked Brown’s shooting ability and versatility while Brown liked everything about the program and the university as a whole.

The fit was right on both sides, so Brown made it official by announcing her commitment to Holy Family on Sept. 15.

“That relationship just grew and it was a major part in helping me make my decision, having that kind of connection with a coach is important,” Brown said. “In terms of knowing that Holy Family was the right fit for me, academically they have what I want to do and the coaches and team made it feel like home for me.”

Last season at Pennridge, her first playing as the lead option offensively, Brown averaged 16.8 ppg and was a first team All-SOL Colonial division selection. A swing player between JV and varsity as a freshman, Brown cracked the Rams’ starting lineup as a sophomore and posted about 12 ppg as a complimentary player to Katie Yoder on a district playoff team.

A 5-foot-8 guard who can also play as a wing, Brown is an excellent floor-spacer with her ability to shoot the ball on the perimeter. She can also play the open floor well and is a high-percentage foul shooter.

The senior had a number of programs at the Division II and III levels interested, with Holy Family jumping in the mix this summer. Tigers coach Bernadette Laukaitis reached out to Brown, explaining in a phone call what she and her staff liked about the guard’s skillset.

“My ability to shoot the ball definitely caught their attention,” Brown said. “They liked my versatility and my ability to get to the basket along with my overall toughness, always wanting to compete and win. I just want to be the best player I can be.”

After their initial call, Laukaitis continued to check in with Brown throughout the summer and a strong relationship quickly built up. Brown said she appreciated the earnest interest the program had in her and that in turn had her start to look more in-depth at Holy Family overall.

Brown, who plans to major in exercise science, put a high value on academics in her decision. Knowing HFU offered that option, getting on campus and spending some time with the team only solidified her interest.

“I had a chance to watch one of their practices, which was important for me,” Brown said. “The energy they had on the court is something I knew would translate to games and that really stood out. The girls really welcomed me and made it feel like home to me.”

The Tigers, coming off a CACC semifinal appearance last year, have a strong local presence on their roster. Junior Taylor Hinkle, a first team All-CACC selection last season, was a senior at CB South when Brown was a high school freshman while she faced incoming freshmen Lola Ibarrondo and Cam Gregory in SOL crossover games with Neshaminy and Council Rock South respectively the last two years.

Brown first picked up basketball in kindergarten and hasn’t let go of it since, so playing at the next level was always a goal of hers. She enters her senior season at Pennridge about 270 points away from 1,000 and while that’s a milestone she hopes to hit, her main focus is leading the Rams back to the district playoffs after the team missed out last year.

Spending the last few years with Penn Fever under Dean Reiman also helped Brown develop her game.

“Playing with people who have those different skills just pushes you to be better and for me, we really didn’t face them in high school, so it was neat to see their skillsets and have them pushing me to be better,” Brown said. “He made practices hard to push us to be the best versions of ourselves, but also made sure we could enjoy the process.”

Things came together quickly between Brown and Holy Family, but the Pennridge senior also recognized that while their relationship had been forged in a couple months, there had been a lot of time put into setting the stage for that opportunity.

“You work really hard for these moments, your time will come, you just have to wait for it,” Brown said. “I learned I have a really great support system and having them behind me helped me make the right decision.”