Rebounding machine

(PHOTO BY ZACH BAKER) Kaylee Brodine was tempted. She later admitted that she was. It was the fourth quarter of Findlay High's girls basketball game with Defiance. Findlay had the game well in hand. Victory was not going to be the issue this night; the only question was by how much. Much of the credit could go to Brodine, who was well on her way to another double-double by scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Before heading to the bench, her work done for another game, Brodine faced one last dilemma. Early in the fourth quarter, the 6-foot post player popped out to the perimeter and received a pass. Turning to face the basket, she seemed a bit surprised to find there was no defender within 10 feet of her. She was wide open, 20 feet from the basket. Oh yeah, Kaylee Brodine was tempted. She later admitted that she was. "I thought about it," Brodine would say later. Putting up a 3-point shot would have seemed the natural thing to do for a player with Brodine's credentials: first-team Three Rivers Athletic Conference, first-team Division I all-Northwest District, special mention all-state after averaging a double-double her junior season. But Brodine knows knocking down 3-pointers is not what she does best on a basketball floor. "Getting a rebound is just as important, especially if you can put it back up and in," said Brodine, who, after passing up that 3-point attempt, did just that in Findlay's game with Defiance before FHS coach Brian Rosendale turned things over to a deep and talented group of younger players. Rebounding may be becoming a forgotten art, but Brodine's numbers are hard to overlook. That's because those numbers are already — or soon will be — atop the list of Findlay High record holders in every level of that category. Just over a year ago, Brodine tied the school record for rebounds in a game when she hauled down 21 — to go along with 20 points — in a 47-40 win over Lima Senior. Brodine finished 2019-20 with 302 rebounds to break Jenn Wenner's single-season record (293, 1995-96). She's continued her quest this year to add the career rebounding record to her resume as well, but isn't putting individual achievement before team goals. "I'm working for that record. I know I'm getting close," Brodine said. "I just try to go out every game and do my job. My job is to get rebounds, and if I do that I'll get the rebounds I need." Brodine took a year off from soccer as a junior, but returned her senior season, led the Trojans in goals (11) and earned first team all-TRAC honors in that sport. That kind of all-around ability translates well onto the basketball court. "I think my natural athleticism comes in handy," Brodine said. "A lot of it is natural and God-given, but I used to work (on rebounding) with my dad a lot, and I hit the weights, too." Brodine brings more than a physical presence to the paint, though. She plans to study criminal justice and is already using some of the profiling skills needed in that profession as she sizes up the opposition. "The first quarter, I usually use that to get a feel for who's the other team's main rebounder," Brodine said. "That gives me a good idea who I need to box out and what I need to do to get those rebounds." Brodine also worked in the offseason on extending her range. It showed in Findlay's win over Defiance when she was 3-for-3 on 10-to-12-foot jumpers from the left elbow. "Last year, I got most of my baskets on the inside," Brodine said. "I wanted to focus more on my outside shooting; that's something I've been working on a lot more." Who knows? One game she might just take another step or backwards and launch that '3'. "Maybe," Brodine said with a laugh. "But no, not just yet."