Kirsty Brown: Caledonia Gladiators are coming to a head when it matters most

Kirsty Brown might have an unique American drawl however she’s Scottish inside out.

Her natural competition is what’s driving her and her group, Caledonia Gladiators, as they enter into their Superleague Basketball Playoff semi-final today however it’s her Scottish links that guarantee it suggests that little bit a lot more to her.

Gladiators have actually currently made background this period by winning the females’s side’s first-ever flatware when they declared the Trophy Finals title in January.

But Brown recognizes that she and her group are currently just 80 mins far from making this period a lot more effective than they can ever before have actually envisioned.

With a 2nd prize currently within touching range, Brown recognizes what goes to risk.

An remarkable 90-77 success over Manchester in the Playoffs quarter-finals last weekend break has actually provided the Scottish side both self-confidence and energy as the period concerns an orgasm and the 6′ 2″ onward thinks her side is coming to a head at simply the correct time.

“The game against Manchester was super competitive but we really doubled-down in the fourth quarter and were able to pull ahead so that win was huge for us,” the 25-year-old claims.

“We have such a long, hard season and it can be hard to keep going when you get to this point so it’s been so important for us to have these big wins under our belt in recent games. It feels like all the work we’ve put in is really coming to fruition at just the right time.

“Peaking at this point of the season is the dream and that’s what it feels like we’re doing.”

Kirsty Brown (Image: Caledonia Gladiators)

This mid-day, in the Playoffs semi-final, Gladiators will certainly tackle favourites for the title and Championship champions, Oakland Wolves.

With Oakland having the home connection, the English side are favourites to proceed to the last however what can be a considerable variable is Gladiators’ sway Oakland in the Trophy Finals previously this year.

Knowing they have actually currently beat Oakland in a video game of significant value does, confesses Brown, offer the Scottish side a significant increase however she’s likewise aware that today’s suit has the prospective to be their hardest of the whole period.

“We’ve not beaten Oakland in the regular season but to have beaten them in the Trophy Finals is huge for us. They’ve not lost at home this season so hopefully beating them on their home court is a really exciting prospect,” she claims.

“We’ve taken confidence from the Trophy Finals win but we’re also not getting complacent about the fact that we won that because we know how hard a game this will be. We go into this game without any doubt in our minds but we know it’s going to be a very, very tough game.

“We want to focus on what we do well and if we can manage that, we should be in a very good spot.”

Brown was birthed in Edinburgh prior to transferring to California at the age of 6. Her go back to Scotland, when she authorized for Gladiators in 2023, has actually been something of an individual accomplishment on the court however much more dramatically, Brown has actually observed a genuine change in the acknowledgment basketball, and dramatically females’s basketball, is getting off the rear of Gladiators success,

“The weather’s just a bit different to California but other than that I’m loving being back in Scotland,” she claims.

“It’s so much fun being a part of this club and seeing how much we’ve grown this season compared to last season has been amazing.

“We’re even starting to get recognised out in public which is massive for women’s sport because often female athletes just don’t get recognised.

“To see the growth of the club and the awareness of the sport has been amazing and it’s very exciting to continue to pushing Gladiators forwards.”