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One of the most talked about players in Orange County girls basketball won’t be part of the action Saturday as the playoffs begin.

But make no mistake, Aliso Niguel junior Shanna Brown made the most of the games she had.

The 5-foot-10 forward averaged 24.3 points, 14.6 rebounds and set four school records for the young Wolverines (10-18), who finished last in the South Coast League.

Brown gained notoriety with single-game explosions of 40 points and 30 rebounds but also drew admiration from rival coaches for playing so well after Aliso Niguel’s top player transferred.

Before the season, BYU-bound Shayla Gillmer departed for Ontario Christian, the No. 1 seed for the Division 2A playoffs. Brown, a close friend with Gillmer, stayed at Aliso Niguel and played the best basketball of her life.

“I was actually kind of shocked,” Brown said of her play. “At the beginning of the season, I never knew I was going to be able to put up the numbers that I did. But I knew we had a young team going in, and I had to just do whatever I could to just try to win a basketball game.”

Brown set school, single-season records for points (679) and rebounds (438). She also scored 33 points against Open Division qualifier Windward.

Brown attributed her breakout campaign to her offseason training, which including working with private shooting coach Matt Beeuwsaert, a former Mater Dei standout based at Los Cab in Fountain Valley.

“He helped me a lot,” she said, “getting my form right.”

And after the transfer of Gillmer and the graduation of a few key seniors, Brown was ready to show her improved, all-around game.

But that didn’t happen until she faced the jarring departure of Gillmer.

“It was kind of tough and then I realized, this is my team now,” Brown said. “I love my team so much.”

Brown’s emergence coincided with Aliso Niguel’s improvement down the stretch. The Wolverines beat playoff teams such as Tesoro, El Dorado, Cerritos, Esperanza and Anaheim.

Brown also had company in the record book. Sophomore guard Aryanna Hudson set Aliso Niguel’s single-season record for assists with 141.

“We grew as a team throughout the season,” Brown said. “If you gave us 10 more games to play, we’d go 9-1 or we’d go 10-0.”

Brown is now preparing for her throwing season in track and field. She also remains part of the buzz in basketball.

A few travel teams are interested in adding Aliso Niguel’s No. 22.

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