Bryant Breaks Loose In Varsity Cage Debut

Brittanny Johnson wanted to wait at least 24 hours before breaking the bad news to Charity Bryant.

At some point, the Evanston girls basketball coach will have to tell the freshman post player that playing varsity basketball isn’t really this easy.

Bryant made her first eight shots from the field --- all of them layups --- on her way to a 24-point performance in her varsity debut as the Wildkits crushed Chicago Intrinsic 72-24 Tuesday night at Beardsley Gymnasium.

The running clock victory came after the host team built a 48-11 halftime lead behind Bryant. The 6-foot freshman stashed in 17 points in the first quarter --- even though she didn’t start --- and finished with 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the floor. She scored her first 3-point field goal late in the third quarter and added 7 rebounds and 4 steals for the winners.

Jayla Warren tallied 12 points, Maya Forman tossed in 9 points, and Brielle Rosemond contributed 8 points as Evanston shot 60 percent (31 of 52) from the field and held Intrinsic to a total of 7 field goals.

Johnson’s had freshmen on the varsity almost every season of her coaching tenure at ETHS but confessed after the rout that she couldn’t remember a better debut for a rookie than Bryant’s first game.

But word of mouth about Bryant’s potential is already spreading among college coaches after she scored 45 points in an AAU game for her club team, Full Package, and Johnson believes the best is yet to come for Bryant.

“You could tell that the moment, playing in Beardsley for the first time, wasn’t too big for her,” said the ETHS coach. “And that’s a really good trait for any freshman to have. She knows she belongs here.

“She has good size and good skills and we’re just trying to help her understand the speed of the high school game. Once she catches on --- wow! I’m almost in awe of how effective she was in her first varsity game. Tonight all of the freshmen and younger players had high moments, and we really need that confidence for them to build on.”

Bryant did play with the varsity squad during the summer prior to her first high school class, although she missed two tournaments because of family trips. She showed that she’s a game-changer right from the start on Tuesday and netted those game-high points despite only playing about half the contest.

“I was very nervous and I was shaking before the game,” she said. “But I don’t think I was surprised by the game I had. I know that I put in the work, and I believed in myself.

“Playing in the summer league (at Loyola Academy) really prepared me for the season. It had a big impact on the way I played tonight, based on the amount of toughness we faced there (in the summer).”

Freshman point guard Ella Martin’s 5 assists all came by dumping the ball into the post, where the Ravens neglected to cover Bryant at all on her first few touches. “I’m looking forward to watching that connection between Ella and Charity for the next four years,” Johnson grinned.

Already ahead 29-8, the Wildkits reeled off 12 straight points to move into “name your own final score” territory by halftime. Johnson cleared her bench but the rout still continued in the third quarter when southpaw sniper Forman cashed in on three 3-point shots in a row to push the lead past 50 points.

Intrinsic shot 7-of-42 on the night and was especially brutal from beyond the 3-point stripe at 4-for-24. The losers also committed 15 of their 19 turnovers in the first half. Charity Love led the Ravens on offense with 9 points.

A bigger test awaits Bryant and Co. Saturday when the Wildkits will host Bolingbrook at 1 p.m.