BRUNSWICK

Shannon Brady walked onto the court at the TD Banknorth Garden as a senior basketball player for Scituate High School in Massachusetts for the 2011/12 championship game. With thousands in attendance, Brady and her team, including teammate Megan Otto, battled hard before falling that night, a loss that still haunts the now Bowdoin College junior.

Brady and Otto will be on the same court come Friday night, but this time it will be as members of opposing teams. Otto and her Babson Beavers will take on Brady’s Polar Bears at Morrell Gymnasium in an NCAA Division III Tournament game at 7 p.m., with the winner advancing to Saturday’s second round, also at Morrell Gymnasium at 7 p.m.

“(Bowdoin) Coach (Adrienne Shibles) was at that game my senior year in Boston, but we don’t talk about that much because it was a tough loss,” said Brady.

The daughter of Mark and Erica Brady, the Bowdoin junior forward has become a quiet leader for the Polar Bears. She is averaging a team-high 14.6 points per game, along with 6.5 rebounds. Her hard work has helped Bowdoin to a 23-4 record heading into battle with the 20-8 Beavers.

“She is a consistent force for us and an important leader,” said Shibles. “Her speed and the way she runs the court are exceptional. She is just so smooth in the paint and deceptively strong. She has done a great job making the transition from high school to college basketball and is a competitor.”

Brady has been a consistent contributor since her freshman year. During the 2012/13 season, the first-year averaged 7.2 points and 5.8 rebounds a game as the Polar Bears finished 14-11 and missed out on the NCAA Tournament.

Last season as a sophomore, her points per game total nearly doubled to a team-leading 14.1.

Brady said her transition into the college game after a successful high school career was a challenge, but feels circumstances helped her progression.

“I was at a great point in high school and just starting to peak. I was behind until my junior year and started coming into my own. The confidence was there in my abilities and work ethic. I was also lucky because the year before Bowdoin graduated five great players. I didn’t expect anything to be handed to me, and I knew that I had to continue to work hard and get better.”

Shibles described Brady’s demeanor in the locker room.

“She has great mental toughness,” said the coach. “She can be struggling, getting double-teamed at every turn and held scoreless, but she comes into the locker room focused on that first possession of the second half. She is not in the corner sulking. I respect that about her.”

“The biggest difference for anyone transitioning into the college game is the mental toughness. You are no longer just going out and playing. In college, you are practicing 2-3 hours a day, attending meetings and trying to become a cohesive unit. How you fit into that cohesive unit is so very important.

My dad always said ‘90 percent is mental. You can’t overthink it. You just have to play as you can play.’ Everyone wants to do well, but we know on this team any of the 13 players can step up on a given night and be the hero. I can have 20 points, but I won’t be excited if we lost. It takes 13 players working together and not thinking of their own stats to have success.”

She shuns away from personal awards — like being named the New England Small College Athletic Conference, New England Women’s Basketball Association and Maine Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week on Feb. 2 after a week to remember when Brady averaged 19.5 points and eight rebounds in leading the Polar Bears to three victories. Instead, the sociology and art history double major likes to talk about the honor of playing at Bowdoin.

“What makes playing at Bowdoin amazing is the legacy here. It is so strong, a legacy of success. Not only has the program been successful, but team values and culture are things that are equally important. When you come to Bowdoin, you are immediately a part of a family, and the Alumni is right there, supporting you from the start.”

Dreams

When Brady and her teammates gathered for a summer workout, there was an immediate sense of what could be, according to the junior.

“We all realized how well that we clicked together, both on and off the court. We have such amazing chemistry. We have three amazing senior captains (Megan Phelps, Sara Binkhorst and Sienna Mitman) that are vocal and a good foundation for us. I am a leader, but not as vocal. If someone makes a mistake, I am there to lift them up.”

“We knew that this was going to be a special year,” said Shibles. “From the getgo, from the offseason workouts, to the first days of practice and into the season, this year has been great. This team has just jelled. We have learned from the losses to teams like Tufts, and we know that we will need to live in the present moment and focus on what we do.”

Brady remembers the way the 2013/14 season ended. Home against Castleton State in the opening round of the D-III Tournament, Bowdoin lost a tough 64-62 decision, putting a sudden end to the season. Brady feels her team has learned from the negative experience and has grown.

“Last year, we didn’t have the ‘eye of the tiger’ when we were behind or had the chance to put a team away. This season, if we were down, like we were against Amherst on Saturday (a 74-66 NESCAC semifinal win), we know we will win. That belief is really important. We have an ability to push through.

“We want redemption and we want to go all the way. No matter what happens, whether we are down or in the lead, we will adjust and put it all out there.”

As far as facing her friend from Babson and the Beavers, “the friendship is on hold until the game is over. Babson is a faceless opponent. We are focusing on what we do ourselves. It is huge playing at Morrell Gymnasium, in front of our fans and Alumni. The support has been great and I’m sure it will be great on Friday. We want and expect to take advantage of that this weekend.”