- Video shows CSUB women's basketball, 2022-23 basketball season, photos of players
- Shaunae Brown returns to the women's basketball team as a guard after a season ending industry cut her first year at CSUB short, and with her experience, she's helping younger girls get used to the pace of the game.
Rolling into a new season, the Cal State Bakersfield women's basketball team plans to pick up from last season in hopes of a winning season.
Whether it’s up and down the court or dealing with the ups and downs of life, it’s the game that’s carried players like guard Shaunae Brown through the challenges.
“In 2017, my older brother passed away and that’s when I kind of started to take things serious," Brown said. "I found that I actually had a purpose.”
Basketball became the way for brown to take care of her family.
“I kind of wanted to do the things he wasn’t able to do,” she said.
She transferred in the 2022-23 season, but after just three games for CSUB, nerve damage to her foot ended brown’s first season at CSUB.
“I started to kind of question just why this stuff was happening to me,” Brown said.
Returning to CSUB this season, ready to compete brown took on a leadership role helping freshman like guard Amourie Porter.
“The speed is completely different," Porter said. "It’s much faster than high school.”
Porter came off a state championship win in Maryland ready to put in the work to adjust to the collegiate level.
“I call it the unseen hours. Nobody sees you doing it. Those little things make a huge difference when we’re making that run,” Brown said.
The CSUB women's team ranked 9th in preseason rankings and with that work and grit, she hopes to prove people wrong.
“As a whole everybody playing with that chip on their shoulder because our team, our team is great," Porter said.
Head coach Greg McCall credits that greatness to the chemistry built between old and new players.
“I think we have a lot of experience also that came back, riding off the momentum of what we did in the tournament,” McCall said.
This season, a full circle moment for Brown.
She found purpose on the court, now a place she can encourage the younger girls on her team.
“You’re obviously here for a reason. The coaches recruited you. They brought you here for a reason, so you have a purpose,” Brown said.
The CSUB women's basketball team will play on Thursday against Hope International.
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