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02/13/2019 11:00 PMReagan Brenneman is an athlete on the rise for the Valley Regional girls’ basketball squad. Reagan, a sophomore forward, has become a key player in the Warriors’ rotation, and she’s even started a few games this year. Reagan primarily plays on the wing, but she also can bump around in the paint, play solid defense, and rebound well. Reagan’s versatility is proving a boon for a Valley club that’s about to begin competing in the postseason.
Reagan spent a great deal of time working on her game following her freshman year. When the current campaign got underway, Head Coach Geoff Konstan told Reagan that she would be taking on a larger role this winter. Reagan says she’s happy to be contributing for the Warriors as a sophomore.
“I practiced a lot in the summer league. I played a lot of basketball this offseason,” Reagan says. “At the beginning of the season, coach told me he would be playing me a lot more on varsity since he saw me improve over the summer. I’ve mostly been coming off the bench, but I’ve started a few games recently. It’s exciting.”
The Warriors have been using a perimeter-based offense that features five players on the outside. Reagan wanted to make sure she fit well in that scheme, so she worked on developing more consistency with her outside shot. However, Reagan knows that she can affect the game when shots bounce off the rim, too.
“I worked on shooting a lot. I changed my form over the summer, and that made a big difference,” says Reagan, who’s averaging 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals a game on the year. “I’ve worked on squaring myself to the basket more and getting more arc on my shot. I am just trying to be more consistent with my shot. I was also trying to get stronger, so I could play down in the post and box out.”
One of the biggest adjustments Reagan had to make as a varsity player was getting used to how fast the game became. Now that she has more experience, the game is slowing down for Reagan as she grows more comfortable playing with her veteran teammates, who have welcomed her with open arms.
“I think the speed of the game changes. The game moves faster as you move up the ranks,” says Reagan, who’s 5-foot-9. “I spent a lot of years with the same group of girls. It’s been fun to play with the seniors this year. They’ve been so nice.”
Coach Konstan says that Reagan has established herself as an integral part of his game-plan on both ends of the court. Reagan’s shooting ability as a forward helps keep the paint clear for driving guards, although she also makes shots from the baseline to help spread the floor. On top of that, Reagan is a key piece in Valley’s defensive traps by applying pressure on opposing ball handlers.
“Reagan is really a coach’s dream with how hard she works, how much she strives to improve, and the fact that she’s an outstanding teammate. She’s worked really hard to become exclusively a varsity player,” Konstan says. “She’s good at drawing her defender away from the basket. She’s also developing a strong baseline jumper that is going to be a big part of our offense for years. We’ve added a swarming full-court press over the last couple of weeks, and she’s a big reason we’ve been successful with it as part of the first trap.”
Reagan feels that one of the biggest reasons behind her success is the support she receives from her family, teammates, and coaches. Reagan says that her parents, Doug and Bonnie Brenneman, are always in her corner, right along with her younger sibling Ella.
“I want to thank both my parents and my younger sister Ella, who is my biggest fan. They are super supportive, and I couldn’t do everything that I do without them,” Reagan says. “I’ve also had so many great coaches my whole life, and I want to thank my teammates for making playing basketball so much fun.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Reagan can’t wait for Valley to begin competing in the Shoreline Conference and Class M State tournaments. While she got a taste of the playoffs last year, Reagan is looking forward to making a bigger impact for the Warriors during the 2019 postseason.
“It’s a different atmosphere in the tournament, and it’s going to be really exciting. We’ve been coming on strong as a team,” says Reagan. “I’ll have a bigger role this time, so I’ll be excited to see how we do. I think we have a really good chance to make something happen.”