Madeline Leavitt
Sports Editor
New Zealand native Brooke Blair has played basketball since she was five years old. From shooting hoops in her backyard, or her families church, to shooting for the ISU Bengals in Reed Gym, the game has been a part of her life for a long time.
Blair was the lone senior playing her final game in Reed Gym this season against Montana. The Bengals defeated the Grizzlies, 72-60, to send Blair off with a win on senior night. After a tough loss two days earlier to Montana State University, 61-60, the Bengals came out ready to get one last win at home before heading to Reno for the Big Sky tournament.
“I’m getting sad, these are my last two home games and the emotions are coming,” Blair said. “But at the same time, I am ready for this chapter of my life to be over and continue to whatever the next chapter may be.”
In January, Blair led the country in three-point percentage, at 50. 7 percent. She is now shooting 41 percent.
When Blair heard the news, she was surprised.
“That is kind of funny,” Blair said. “I don’t think that it went to my head or anything, I just kept playing and soon after that I had a few bad games, but I picked it right back up.”
Last season, Blair was unable to play after suffering an ACL injury in ISU’s season opener. After going through injury rehab, she continued to practice her shooting.
Blair’s goal was to make her shot more consistent.
“You have to have talent to shoot the way she does,” said head coach Seton Sobolewski. “You have to have a shooting touch which I think is innate and then you have to work really hard to develop that. That is what she does, she spends more time in the gym shooting than any of our other players.”
Throughout her ISU career Blair has played and started 62 games. Coming off the ACL injury, her final season at ISU has been one where she came out swinging offensively. Averaging 30 minutes of playing time, 13.4 points per-game, 46.8 field goal percentage, 41 percent 3-point average, and 73.7 percent from the free throw line.
Defensively, Blair has also contributed, averaging 3.1 rebounds per-game, 1.9 assist, and 1 steal per-game.
Sunday morning Blair was named Second Team All-Big Sky.
Both Blair and Sobolewski feel that Blair doesn’t overthink the game, she tries to keep her playing simple and go with the flow.
“I don’t even want to think about it, she has been so good for us and just a great person on the team,” Sobolewski said. “I don’t even want to mentally go there yet.”
Blair feels that the journey she took, here at ISU was the best thing that has happened to her. She knew she wanted to choose the college dream and being able to play and get a degree is an opportunity she wouldn’t be able to pursue back home in New Zealand.
Blair has also made the reserve list, for the Commonwealth Games, which she describes as a smaller version of the Olympic Games but for the countries in the Commonwealth.
Blair’s main hope is to play in either Europe or Australia, and after that going home to New Zealand to coach kids.
As her time with ISU comes to a close, Blair is grateful for the moments she has had.
“It has been good,” she said. “I loved it, it helps a lot with having such good teammates and coaches, they are pretty much my family here, it’s been good and I feel I have blended well with them.”
Her favorite moment is the pre-game, going onto the court and handshaking her teammates and seeing the crowd yell and cheer for them.
“This was the best decision,” Blair said. “I have enjoyed my whole time here.”
