At the beginning of the 2022-23 girls’ basketball season, there was some buzz around Greencastle and a transfer who would be playing for the team.
By the end of the season, which came on the floor at Shelbyville in the semistate round, the buzz that surrounded Gloria Brewer in October had turned into a record-breaking role in the Tiger Cub squad, setting three single-season records after tying down the school’s single-game scoring mark just four games into the season.
Beyond individual honors, Brewer helped Greencastle reclaim the Putnam County Paddle as part of winning the Putnam County Tournament, along with a win in the Jenni Marietta State Farm Classic, the Greencastle Sectional and the school’s second-ever regional title, along with a 15-game winning streak that was halted only by eventual back-to-back state champions Forest Park.
The combination of performance and results made Brewer a worthy choice as the Putnam County Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year as voted upon by the coaches of Putnam County.
Brewer set single-season records for Greencastle in points (688), rebounds (281) and steals (128) along with the single-game scoring mark with 46 points against Brown County.
The senior guard also led Greencastle in offensive rebounds (79), assists (91) and blocks (14), averaged 25.5 ppg, 10.4 rpg, 4.7 spg and 3.4 apg for the 23-5 Tiger Cubs.
It was a sea change year for Brewer, not the least as it was the first time she had attended a public school.
“I’d always been home schooled,” Brewer said. “Since I was going to college, I wanted to transition into going to a regular school, to get used to things a little bit.”
In the last weeks of the 2021-22 basketball season, Brewer suffered an upper body injury, one that lingered for some time and required several visits to finally deduce the cause, something Brewer said prevented her from playing much before the 2022-23 school year began.
“I got injured a week before the end of last season,” Brewer noted. “I was able to play two games of AAU but I couldn’t finish playing because we wanted to figure out what was wrong, which took forever.
“We visited 14 different doctors before finally figuring out what the problem was. It took a while for things to heal because it was about resting. I couldn’t do much until August.”
Once finally cleared, Brewer said she spent the first months of the school year trying not to overcompensate for missed time.
“I was able to start running before doing contact stuff,” Brewer said. “It was a lot of conditioning before I could start shooting.
“It was slow but I was doing what I could without doing too much.”
As the season drew closer, Brewer began working with her new teammates, who were quick to bring her into the fold.
“It seemed like it went really easy,” Brewer said about adapting to the plans in place for the season. “Everyone was really nice so I adapted to them well and they adapted to me well.
“I was really happy with what I saw at the beginning of practice. I knew there was a lot of talent and competitive people that would put up a fight with anybody, which is always good to have on a team.”
Brewer’s debut was delayed a game due to having wisdom teeth removed earlier, meaning she was a practice shy of being able to face off against Southmont.
“That was pretty annoying,” Brewer admitted about having to watch the opener against Southmont from the bench. “I did get to see how the team played and how to adapt to it more having seen a game.”
Instead, it was a trip to Edgewood where Brewer first took the floor, helping the Tiger Cubs pick up their first win of the season 53-35, scoring 18 points, snagging 13 rebounds, snatching eight steals and dishing out five assists.
“It was nerve-racking,” Brewer said about the first game at Edgewood. “I get nervous before a lot of games and it was just a little bit more before.
“Once you get playing, though, you get used to it.”
From there, Brewer scored at least 30 points in the next four games, including the 46-point, 22-rebound outing against Brown County.
Brewer said she aimed to get off to a quick start on offense to help alleviate pressure on others to do the same, something that became less forced as the season went along.
“I normally go out and try to score at the beginning so that we have a lead and everyone gets to calm down a little bit,” Brewer said. “It also depended on who we were playing.
“Confidence in everyone went up a lot throughout the year. The chemistry got tighter and we became close.
“As we got closer on the court, the trust built up and we played better on the court,” Brewer added.
Following a strong pair of wins at the Putnam County Tournament, Greencastle lost three of its next four games, including then No. 1 Indian Creek, Danville and Sullivan.
In other years, the losses would have been taken in hand but Brewer said the losses to the Braves and Golden Arrows both stung,
“We were more down because we knew we should have beat them,” Brewer said about the loss to Indian Creek in particular. “We could have played better and won that game.”
The loss to Sullivan would turn out to be the last loss for two months, beginning with three wins in the Jenni Marietta State Farm Classic to win the title.
“It was important to go out in high-stakes games to go out and perform,” Brewer said about winning the two midseason tournaments. “Those wins were nice things to have before sectionals.
“Each title we won helped build confidence. In the Northview tournament, we beat a 4A school (Terre Haute North), which built a lot of confidence.”
From there, the Tiger Cubs began to build up a significant head of steam, winning the last 11 games of the regular season.
Along the way, Brewer and the rest of the Tiger Cubs bonded both on and off the court, helping Brewer’s goal of adapting to school and social life.
“As we went on in the season and got closer, I thought of inviting them to youth group,” Brewer said. “Eventually, they all wanted to come, so we went on Wednesdays to church.
“We’d go to Starbucks and stuff like that before hand and made it an outing. I’d gotten used to school, those outings and loved every minute of it.”
The sectional draw paired Greencastle with Southmont to open postseason play, the exact matchup Brewer said the team wanted as the Tiger Cubs rolled to a sectional title.
“Going into sectionals, we had beaten all the teams in the field except Southmont,” Brewer said. “We knew we had a good chance of winning and as long as we did our thing, we’d be fine.
“We couldn’t have gotten a better draw in the first game; we all wanted to play (Southmont) and prove that we could beat them. We just went from there the rest of the sectional.”
It was the first sectional title for Greencastle in a decade and uncharted territory for the members of the squad in any sport, though Brewer said the group reveled in the added time together.
“That week was a really fun week,” Brewer said about the buildup to the regional. “We had dinner a lot with each other, talked about the game and scouted (Union County) really well.
“We did the best we could to get prepared for the game and to go in with confidence.”
The first regional title in 43 years meant the team got another week together and while the run would end against Forest Park, Brewer said the team continued to enjoy the time it had together.
“The only difference between the regional and semistate week was that we were together even more,” Brewer said. “We were preparing as best as possible and enjoying the time we had with each other.”
Having gotten a full taste of Hoosier Hysteria, Brewer said the season as a whole was a wonderful experience to have.
“I took a lot away from this year,” Brewer said. “Being around teammates every day builds a lot of chemistry.
“Being able to come in and practice every day, it was real nice to be able to do that. In homeschool, we only practiced three times a week and had to practice by ourselves the other two, so being with teammates every day meant a lot.”
Setting four school records during the year, Brewer said her individual play over the year was up to par, despite the lack of play in the summer and being in a new team.
“It was pretty good,” Brewer said about her individual performance during the season. “I put a lot of work into it and thank the Lord for everything we did.
“Overall, I was happy with my individual performance.”
Brewer said she had yet to make a decision on where she would attend and play collegiately but said a decision was not far off.
“I’m getting closer,” Brewer said about her secondary education and basketball choices. “I’ve got a top-three list but also two more visits to make.
“I’m just trying to figure it all out. It’s a big decision but being here has helped colleges know a little more about where I’m at, especially not being able to play AAU. It’s helped the recruitment process.”
Brewer, who will also play softball this year for Greencastle, said she was thrilled with how things had gone during the 2022-23 season and encouraged those returning and coming up to give it their all once the new season arrived next year.
“I’d say to everyone just to work hard, have fun with it and enjoy the ride because it doesn’t last very long,” Brewer said. “If you’re going to do it, put 100 percent into it and try your best at it.”
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