Lady Topper Hoops: Ivy Brown Year-In-Review
In our preseason predictions, I forecasted a need for Ivy Brown to be an inside force in 2017–18:
In our preseason predictions, I forecasted a need for Ivy Brown to be an inside force in 2017–18:
“Last year, the Lady Toppers had four proven scoring threats coming into the season. They only have two this year in Ivy and Tashia Brown.
If the Lady Toppers are to continue their perennial dominance of C-USA, get back to the NCAA Tournament, and take that elusive next step of winning a game in the Big Dance, Ivy Brown must be a consistent inside presence.”
Heading into this past season, it was obvious the Lady Toppers needed a consistent inside presence, and they needed outside shooting. Ivy improved in almost every area significantly from her junior to senior season. As a 6'1" power forward, Ivy shot over 40% from three and nearly averaged a double-double. All told, Brown led the Lady Toppers in field goal percentage, made threes, rebounds, blocks, and steals. She finished no less than fourth in any individual category.
Ivy not only filled the role on the inside, but also continued to improve from the perimeter and developed remarkable catching ability in the post in her final campaign.
Brown left serious imprints of her own in her Lady Topper career, winning three championships, including back-to-back to finish her career. Ivy was a heck of a stretch four, playing both inside and out. Much like Kendall Noble from the 2017 class, Ivy was the most versatile player in Conference USA her senior season.
Perhaps the two knocks on Ivy’s game were dealing with size (usually against Power Five teams) and getting into foul trouble. An undersized forward, Ivy did have trouble adjusting to bulk inside consistently throughout her career.
However, to live in all parts of the floor at 6'1" and produce like she did on both ends consistently, Ivy should go down as one of the best Lady Toppers in recent memory. Besides Kendall Noble and perhaps Chastity Gooch, she could be considered the most versatile Lady Topper in history.