Profile: Pioneer’s Savannah Brewer is ready to help her team win a District title  

Savannah Brewer says she liked basketball compared to other sports because of the “intensity of the game.” And if you have seen Brewer on the court, it’s easy to see that intensity in the way she plays the game.

Brewer is not only one of the better skilled players on the court but one of the hardest workers. She brings that “intensity” every game to the Pioneer girls’ basketball team and it’s one of the reasons for the team’s success this year.

After a strong regular season, the Pioneers will compete at the Division 1 Huron District starting on March 2. They drew an opening-round bye and will face the winner of the Ypsilanti-Lincoln game. Huron, Saline and Belleville are the other teams in the District.

Brewer – and her teammates – are looking forward to the challenge of a challenging District.

“The goal is to win Districts and to get as far as possible after that,” Brewer says. “Being focused and working hard as a team in practice is going to be a big key in making these goals become a reality. We have to be willing to push each other and hold each other accountable to better ourselves and the team.”

Brewer credits playing together as a team as the reason for the team’s success so far this season.

“There’s not just one person that does all the scoring, or one person getting defensive stops, or all the rebounds,” she says. “Everyone does their own part in each aspect of the game. We push each other and we make each other better. We go after it and challenge one another in practice and I think that plays a big part in our success.”

Brewer is only a junior who can play almost anywhere on the floor. She says she first became interested in basketball in first grade when she joined a rec & ed team. “I love the intensity the game brought and it’s always given me this feeling that no other sport I’ve played has done,” she says.

During the spring/summer season, Brewer has played for Common Bond since she was in the fourth grade.

Savannah, 16, is the daughter of Jessica Spears. She plans on trying out for the softball team this season and also enjoys spending time with friends and family as well as going to watch the Michigan women’s basketball team play.

Brewer played on the JV team as a freshman and sophomore. She was a starter both years, playing the point and shooting guard as a freshman.

“It’s a huge difference from middle school, but I think having played AAU for as long as I have, I was a little more prepared,” she says. “Something that was different between the two years was that my sophomore year I was one of the older players on the team so I had to become a better leader and teacher for my teammates because I was the one they came to when they needed help.”

This season as a junior, Brewer is a starter on the varsity and plays a lot at the 3 position. She says she has had a good season so far but feels like she can always player better and do more to help her team.

“I plan on continuing to work hard to help my team get better and be successful,” she says. “This year’s team has been one of my favorite teams to be a part of and we’ve had some exciting and accomplishing wins along with some tough losses. We have faced with some challenges this season, but we’ve all kept a positive attitude, continued to work hard, and we seemed to have done a pretty good job overcoming the obstacles thrown at us.”

Brewer says this also is a special team off the court.

“The friendships I have made throughout the years is amazing and something I would never change,” she says. “This team truly is like a big family and everyone is always there for each other. It’s always a fun time. This team can turn a bad day into a great one and the love and respect I have for my teammates and for this program in general is endless.”

One of the highlights this year was beating Saline in the second matchup between the two rival programs.

“The first time we played them we lost in overtime and we were pretty upset about it,” Brewer says. “Saline is one of our rivals and when we beat them it felt amazing. We were hungry for that win and really wanted it. We went out and did what we had to do to get the win.”

Brewer plans on going to college and staying involved in the game she loves, both at the next level and beyond.

“A long-term goal of mine is once I’m finished with college is to get into the coaching side of basketball and help people to get better,” she says.