Women’s Basketball: Big shot Brandi

Eric Narcisse, The Advertiser, January 12, 2012

UL’s Brandi Schambough is no stranger to having to work hard, overcoming adversity and exercising patience, but with everything she has had to endure throughout her athletic career, the rewards she’s reaping this season with the Ragin’ Cajuns has made the trials and tribulations more than worth it.

Schambough’s heard every reason why she wasn’t going to be a successful basketball player and after suffering a serious knee injury in high school, the naysayers only began to become louder and louder.

"A lot of people questioned my decision to want to play basketball," Schambough said. "A lot of people told me that I was too small and that I wasn’t fast enough to play basketball. Then once I tore my ACL, people then told me it would be tough for me to come back from it."

But as she’s done for the vast majority of her life, Schambough proved them wrong.

Not only did she play basketball and return from her knee injury, Schambough earned a spot onto the Ragin’ Cajuns basketball team as a walk-on and eventually earned a scholarship as a junior.

"It was a challenge, but there was no way I was ever going to give up or quit," said Schambough, who will lead the Cajuns against Arkansas State at 5 p.m. today in the Cajundome. "Everything I’ve been able to accomplish hasn’t been easy, especially when you have people telling you that you’re not good enough and you can’t do this and you can’t do that. But I just used it all as fuel to help me prove them all wrong."

Schambough has definitely proved all of the naysayers wrong. Not only is she a collegiate basketball player at a Division I-A program, but she has established herself as one of the more clutch shooters on the team evident by the fact that she’s hit three game-winning shots in the last two seasons including two this year in wins over Tulane and UALR.

"I feel like I have proved people wrong and I have surprised myself with what I’ve been able to accomplish," Schambough said. "I never thought that I would be where I am today and enjoying the success I’ve been able to enjoy. I’m really thankful for the opportunity that all of my coaches have given me."

But the opportunity that Schambough, a 5-6 senior guard from Youngsville, is thankful for is something she created for herself according to Cajuns first year head coach Garry Brodhead.

"Brandi works hard every day," Brodhead said. "She comes in ready to learn. She believes in us and in what we’re doing and that has never wavered. The success she is enjoying is not luck. Luck has nothing to do with it. She knows her role and when her time comes to shoot, she is always ready. Her success is not by accident."

Schambough, who is enjoying the most playing time of her collegiate career this season at 18.1 minutes per game, is averaging 3.8 points and 1.1 rebounds for a Cajuns team that’s 7-9 overall and 1-5 in conference.

"It’s not every day you get the opportunity to play college athletics or make game-winning shots," Schambough said. "Getting to play more and making those game-winning shots have given me more confidence that I can shoot the basketball."

Brodhead has been impressed with the job Schambough has done shooting the basketball, playing defense and setting a great example for the younger Cajuns players.

"I like what Brandi brings to our team," Brodhead said. "She practices like it’s a game. She never gives up. If she can’t do something she just keeps working on it even if that means she is in the gym by herself. I hope the younger kids here have taken notice to how hard she works. Brandi wants to make sure every minute of her life is productive. She doesn’t want to waste one moment of her life and she has that approach to basketball and in the classroom."

With the curtains slowly beginning to close on her final year as a collegiate basketball player, Schambough is determined to relish every second of every moment.

"Everything about this season has been great," Schambough said. "Every now and then I think about the fact that it is almost over. The time is flying by and I very sad that it’s going to end soon. I really wish I could go back to being a freshman and start this journey over."

Although her career is coming to an end, Schambough has definitely left her mark on the rebuilding of the program.

"One day, when we look back on her career we’ll be able to say Brandi Schambough had a big part to do with the new era at UL," Brodhead said.

Follow assistant sports editor Eric Narcisse on Twitter @tdanarcisse.