Kenwood Academy pride on full display at pep rally for girls basketball state champs

Applause erupted in the auditorium of Kenwood Academy High School on Friday as the girls basketball team took the stage to celebrate their recent 4A state championship win.

"Are we state championships?" Dean of Students Kristin Flowers asked over the microphone to cheerful roars from the hundreds of students at the pep rally, held to honor the girls basketball team and recognize the school's other athletic accomplishments.

For junior guard Danielle Brooks, the rally marked a satisfying conclusion to the Broncos’ season, which ended with a 35-3 record.

"It's great knowing that all our work has paid off and we're seeing our rewards," Brooks told the Sun-Times. "We're a real team and real sisters, so we have each others back and did this together."

The Broncos took the stage at the pep rally after a series of performances from the school’s drum line, cheer squad and step team. There also was a panel discussion with the boys basketball team, which recently took home the city championship.

The energy was electric, and the sense of pride students felt in their school — both for its athletics and academics — was palpable.

The students cheered as Flowers ran through a list of the school’s athletic accomplishments, including strong season finishes from Kenwood's volleyball, wrestling, cheer, soccer and poms teams.

They also applauded the girls basketball players as they discussed the importance of balancing games with their academic life and spoke about their post-high school plans to go to college.

"We take first place most of the time when we compete — that's who we are and it transcends into the classroom," said Principal Karen Calloway. "And you guys being a 'Bs or better' school transcends into athletics."

Coach Andre Lewis got emotional talking about how rewarding it has been to see the girls basketball team grow throughout the past season.

"I already miss them," Lewis said. "They've grown tremendously — their togetherness, their ownership of the team — this was the most rewarding year for me."

Lewis said he changed his approach to coaching this season by emphasizing the journey the team was on to get to the championships, rather than focusing too hard on the end goal.

"We spent much more time talking about embracing the journey, and even after difficult losses, we talked about what we need to do in that moment to grow," Lewis said.

Jade Hamilton, a senior on the team, said she'll take these lessons with her as she goes on to college at Chicago State University.

"We learned that if you give something your all and put your blood, sweat and tears into it, it can really pay off," Hamilton said. "We treated every game like it was our last, like it was our moment."

Amillya Henigan, a junior on the team, said this season taught her the value of preparation.

"Proper preparation prevents poor performance," Henigan said. "So whatever lessons you use on the court, you can take that into the classroom."

Icesis Thomas, a senior on the team, said the pep rally was important because it celebrated the accomplishments of girls in sports — especially as women's basketball is booming in popularity.

"Knowing that we're getting treated just as well as the boys is a good feeling because we go through the same things as boys, and probably even more," Thomas said. "Knowing we're finally being pushed out to the public and our work is being shown off just as much as theirs is a good feeling."