BC's Brown Overcomes Stage Fright
November 26, 2006
By LORI RILEY, Courant Staff Writer Ayla Brown grew up in Wrentham, Mass., and had wanted to play for Boston College since she was 12. In her debut this fall as a freshman, she missed two breakaway layups and air-balled a free throw during a scrimmage.
"I was a nervous wreck," she said. "Typical freshman. I didn't know what I was doing. I had butterflies in my stomach. It was horrible."
This from an 18-year-old who finished 13th on "American Idol" last season, has sung twice with the Boston Pops, sang the national anthem at a Celtics game and performed at the Big E this fall, among other appearances.
Brown, a 6-foot-1 forward, got over her nerves and is now the third-leading scorer (10.8) for the Eagles (4-2). Boston College's first loss came Tuesday night against sixth-ranked Ohio State, 80-72, in double overtime. Brown didn't play that night because of an ankle sprain; she was back on the court Friday against Central Connecticut in a first-round game at the University of Rhode Island Invitational.
BC struggled at first, leading 35-27 at halftime, but managed to hold off Central, 67-57. Brown had four points and three rebounds in 22 minutes.
"I was surprised and pleased to see what she was able to do today," coach Cathy Inglese said.
Inglese probably wasn't all that pleased Saturday when the Eagles lost to her former team, Vermont, in the championship game, 56-48. Brown had two points, six rebounds and five of her team's 21 turnovers. BC was 3-for-14 on three-point attempts.
"We're quicker and a little more athletic than last year," Inglese said Friday. "I think we're a work in progress. We're still finding ourselves, switching around offenses, making adjustments."
Brown had a busy summer and fall and is still adjusting to college life and college basketball.
She sang the national anthem at the July 4th Boston Pops concert and performed again with the Pops at a concert at BC in September. She released an album, "Forward," in mid-October.
She's getting used to the attention.
"It's not bad," she said. "I know it's only going to last for so long and I'm really taking advantage of it while I can."
Brown tried out for "American Idol" in August 2005, standing in line with her mother in the rain at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough for 18 hours to get a chance to sing. She made the cut and another cut in Boston and then went to California. Brown was eliminated from the show in March.
She said she had never watched the show before trying out.
"My friends and family [encouraged her to try out], making me do something outside the box, outside of my comfort zone," she said. "I love a challenge. To me, that was a challenge. It was an awesome experience."
Inglese, likewise, had never watched "Idol" until her recruit became a star.
"It's funny, people look at her as the `Idol' who plays basketball," Inglese said. "We knew her before then, before this `Idol' stuff came up. She's a super kid.
"There are so many common threads in what she did trying out for `Idol' and basketball, being disciplined, dealing with stress, practicing, making a commitment."
courant.com | BC's Brown Overcomes Stage Fright
lol Maybe she'll let me go to one sometime next month!
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