Kenwood girls basketball’s defensive effort helps program win first city championship

By Michael Wojtychiw

A lot of talented girls basketball players have walked through the doors of Kenwood Academy within the past five years, and even longer.

But despite the talent in the building, one thing had always eluded the Broncos program: a city championship.

The Broncos won a nail-biter over Lane Tech in the semifinals before taking on a hungry Butler College Prep squad that was making its first appearance in the city title game at Credit Union1 Arena on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago.

The Lady Lynx, in their second year in the Chicago Public League and first in the Red Division, were looking to shock the Broncos and prove that they belonged among the big name CPL programs.

It was the Broncos, however, who made a statement and did it quickly, running out to a 15-1 lead after the first quarter, enroute to a 56-25 win and coveted city championship.

“This means a lot to me because it’s our first one and I’ve coached a lot of great kids here,” Kenwood coach Andre Lewis said. “This is a reflection of the program we have built, over the years, and players like Danielle, who have been here for four years and Darryelle, who just got here, it’s a testament of what we’ve built, the work they’ve put in, the desire to win, and the willingness to accept new people, work together and be about ‘us’ rather than I.

Kenwood didn’t just have a near-shutout in the first quarter, it held Butler to 0-for-15 shooting in the quarter.

“This was our best defensive effort we’ve had all year. It’s the defensive effort that we’ve expected from each other all year and it’s great that it happened today, of all days.”

Kenwood’s Danielle Brooks had been through all four city championship appearances, having played on the varsity level since her freshman season. Her stellar high school career, which included earning the distinction of being Kenwood’s all-time leading scorer – boys or girls – and has led her to the opportunity of playing collegiately at UIC next season, but the city championship is something that had been one of the few unachieved goals.

Not anymore.

“Our goal was to be champions,” Brooks said. “We’re always working with each other after practice, helping each other with this or that. It feels really good.”

It was two newcomers that helped the Broncos bring home the title as well.

Seniors Valencia Miller transferred in from Hammond Central (Ind.) and Darryelle Smith from Fenwick.

The two joined Brooks (12 points) on double-digit scoring, racking up 12 and 15 points, respectively in the win. Smith also had eight rebounds and Miller six.

“We’re trying to do it all together in one year,” Lewis said. “We’ve grown a lot since the beginning of the year. There [were] games that we didn’t trust each other in, and that’s natural because they’re new. The willingness to sacrifice for one another, it comes over time. It comes as a result of what you do off the court as well as what you do on the court … learning to trust one another. You got to actually go through some things. You’ve got to fail.”

This year’s Kenwood team was much different than recent ones. Teams like last year’s state-title team had played together for three, four years, some even playing together since they were little kids learning the game.

This year’s squad, however, had many, many new faces, including Smith and Miller, but also freshmen Zaire Lester and Janiah Daniel, both of whom played crucial minutes throughout the season for Kenwood.

“This doesn’t feel like a basketball team,” Smith said. “It feels like a sisterhood, like a family. I can connect with the, I trust them on and off the court. It’s an opportunity to come here and find my family, find what I’m passionate about.”

Kerminicia Wellington led the Lady Lynx with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Xyanna Walton added six points and nine rebounds.

Photos by Zoe Davis/OSA