Princeton University Athletics
From Shadow to Spotlight
January 28, 2000 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2000
Coming into the 1999-2000 season, Brooke Lockwood had played in 60 games, starting two, and registered 91 points in 700 minutes. That's all the numbers could show. What the stats did not tell is how hard Lockwood worked to get where she is today. They did not tell what Lockwood has meant to Princeton's success.
Let's go back a few years and see where this story begins. Lockwood came to Princeton from Palatine, Ill., where she was a member of the basketball and tennis teams at William Fremd. She captained her basketball team as a senior and helped lead her Fremd Vikings to three consecutive regional titles. When she came to Princeton, she battled on the blocks with two-time All-Ivy honoree Lea Ann Drohan, who graduated last year with 139 blocked shots, the second highest total in history.
The tale is very similar for each of Lockwood's first three seasons. She saw action in a good number of games and added a couple of points and pulled down a couple of rebounds for her credit. It wasn't about the points. It was not about the minutes. It was about the team. Day in and day out, Lockwood pushed her teammates as much as they pushed her. Everyday Lockwood was helping Drohan become one of the finest defensive centers and prolific shot blockers in the league. On game day she played behind Drohan, coming in and doing whatever was needed of her, no questions asked. That was then, this is now. You will see Lockwood standing at midcourt ready to jump center. You will see her score, rebound and hit a cutter for the patented Princeton backdoor layup--repeatedly. This is the same Brooke, still 6' 2" and brown hair. So what is the difference? "I really don't know how to explain the difference," Lockwood says. "I did the same workouts this summer that I did for the past three, but with a different attitude I guess.
"The past three years I felt like the starting spot was Lea Ann's, and I was there to push her and make her a stronger player. With her having graduated, this year is my turn to shine. Coming into this season I knew I was the person for the job and that I could do it. The door to my success was open, I just had to walk through it."
Not only did Lockwood walk through, but she seemed to leap through it. Remember the 91 points she scored in her first three seasons? Well that number was topped through 14 games this season. She set a then career-high with 12 points against Ohio in Nov. in the first game of the Friends of Princeton Basketball Invitational, also the Tigers' first win of the season. Since then, Lockwood set career-high after career-high, including a team-leading 19 points (17 in the first half) and 12 rebounds--her first career double-double--against Rider on Monday, which was also her 22nd birthday.
Lockwood has blossomed into a driving force in the paint for the Tigers. She credits the example taught by those before her, mainly Drohan. Now a senior, Lockwood hopes to have the same impact on the younger players, especially sophomore Shani Moore.
"I feel that I am very much a role model for our younger players. My teammates jokingly call me the team mom," Lockwood says. "I don't mind having that title. I like taking care of everyone else and making sure that things are going smoothly. It is in my nature.
"I hope that like me and Lea Ann for the past three years, Shani also is learning from my example. I know she will be ready to step it up when it is her turn."
The story does not end here. There are 13 games left for Lockwood and the 2000 Tigers and an Ivy League title at steak. The quest for that crown continues this weekend against Cornell and Columbia. The record does not reflect the talents and capabilities of this team, and Lockwood knows that now is the time to prove just what kind of guns Princeton's arsenal holds.
"I think the team mood can be summed up in two words: CARPE DIEM [seize the day]. This is the motto by which I live my life. My junior high basketball coach, Mr. Werner, whom I still keep in touch with, always used to say this, and it has just stuck with me. If you see me on campus before a game, I will be wearing a pin with that phrase on it to remind myself to go after it. That is definitely what our team has been doing. We go after it everyday in practice and in games. We know the title is ours to get, we just have to work towards it."
No matter what happens the rest of the season, Lockwood has made an impact that no stat sheet will reveal. That's okay. There are 12 teammates that are proof enough.