If someone wanted to watch one of the premier point guards in all of Missouri high school girls’ basketball, they wouldn’t have to go far if they lived near St. Vincent High School.
In the gym, they can find a future college basketball player in junior Brie Rubel.
Just this past Saturday, Brie and her twin sister, junior Kate Rubel, made a game-day visit down south to Division-I Abilene Christian in Texas of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The Rubel twins watched the Wildcats record a 74-52 win for their Pink Out Game.
Brie and Kate are no strangers to college basketball as they witnessed their two older sisters — Lexi and Tori — make the NCAA Tournament with UT Martin last winter, even watching them play in person at Iowa.
“I’m very excited for what the future holds, but I’m very excited for the end of this year,” Brie Rubel said. “I’m also excited for what the future has to bring for all of my teammates in their lives as well as mine.”
With under two weeks left until the start of the postseason, Rubel has helped lead St. Vincent (19-2) to consistently be ranked as a top team in the Show-Me State in multiple polls.
On Feb. 3, the Indians were once again named as a top-four team in Class 2 at No. 3 overall by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association. St. Vincent is also ranked in Kansas City media outlet Metro Sports MoKan’s Top 25, which includes all six of Missouri’s classifications.
“It’s definitely nice being able to know that other people are seeing all the hard work we’re putting into practice and games — it’s not going unnoticed,” Rubel said about the rankings.
With Rubel orchestrating the Indians offense, they are averaging well over 60-plus points per game this season. This is something no other St. Vincent team has done for at least the past 20 years.
On the court, Rubel plays with a combination of grace, strength, quickness and knowledge of the game that allows her to do just about anything she wants.
Statistically, Rubel has been the Indians’ leading scorer all winter and is currently putting up 13.2 points per game as she produces at all three levels. Rubel has not only been one of St. Vincent’s three players who’s made 30-plus 3-pointers but also her team’s leader in assists.
Rubel nearly averages five assists per game (4.7) as she’s flourished at the point in an offense that possesses as many weapons as St. Vincent does. One of the top-scoring threats for the Indians is Kate, of course, who paces her sister with 11.3 points per game.
On Feb. 4, in one of St. Vincent’s two 60-plus point wins, the Rubel twins combined for 45 points and eight 3-pointers for an 83-19 road victory over Kelly (8-11). Brie Rubel finished with a game-high 25 points and five first-half 3s, while her sister scored 20 points and hit three treys.
The Rubels also showed off their unselfishness in that contest as well, though, by combining for 10 assists. Kate is averaging the third-most assists behind Brie with nearly three per game (2.8) and the Indians’ other point guard, junior Lana Adams (2.9).
“One thing that makes my job easier is if I ever need a minute, Lana can also play point, and so can others,” Rubel said. “Everyone can shoot as well. If I drive and know I don’t have the shot, everyone’s always open online. So, I have confidence as well in my teammates that they can also handle the ball and shoot it.”
Outside of Brie and Kate, senior Allie Patrick and Adams are also two of the team’s other top scorers, as they currently average 11.1 and 9.3 points per contest, respectively. Both have had multiple 20-point outings, as has junior guard Rylee Robinson (7.7 points per game).
Patrick and Robinson are the other two Indians, along with Brie Rubel, who have knocked down more than 30 3-pointers so far this winter. Another top shooter for St. Vincent, who missed the first four games of the season, is senior guard Haley Emmendorfer, as she’s made 20-plus 3s.
Not only does this team have the talent individually to succeed offensively, but Rubel and her teammates also have the camaraderie on and off the court that it takes to make for a special group.
“We’ve been working very hard in practice,” she said. “We’ve done some team bonding stuff with film and whatnot — we had some fun with that. We have film-pizza parties, and we don’t even just talk about basketball but also about school, life and everything.
“We’ve really just gelled together and have been working on making one more pass to find the open person — who’s hot on the line. We just feed them, and we are proud of each other and always cheer each other on.”
Even more importantly, Brie Rubel and her teammates’ skill and chemistry also give them a huge edge defensively. St. Vincent is currently allowing less than 30 points per game (29.5), which no other Indians team has done in more than two decades either.
For instance, with a defender like Rubel, she gives ball handlers headaches by mirroring their movements and eventually forcing turnovers. This is something most of these Indians can do individually, but they have even more success trapping ball handlers two-on-one.
“Trapping has definitely been one of our main emphasises lately — pushing hard trapping and getting used to that rotation,” Rubel said. “Everyone in practice has been working hard on talking with each other and being able to just close in on those traps and get the steals.”
Rubel is leading the Indians in steals with an average of 3.3 takeaways per game, while Adams is right behind Brie at 3.2. Patrick and Kate also each record more than two steals each contest, while Robinson and Allie’s sister senior Mallory Patrick are close to averaging two as well.
St. Vincent also works collectively to gather rebounds as the Rubel twins, the Patrick sisters and Adams all average more than four boards per game a piece. Kate leads the way with nearly six rebounds per game (5.6), while Lana almost has five a game herself.
In St. Vincent’s 83-19 home win over JCAA Small School Conference opponent Crystal City (9-12) last Thursday, Brie Rubel once again outscored the opposition on her own with a game-high 20 points and knocked down three 3-pointers. She also dished out five assists and came up with four steals.
Allie Patrick (15 points), Kate (14) and Robinson (11) combined for 40 points outside of Brie Rubel’s 20. Allie and Rylee hit three 3s as well, while Kate also filled the stat sheet with eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. Adams and Patrick did well dishing out the ball with five and four assists, respectively.
With how well the season has gone thus far, these Indians rightfully have every reason to believe that they are moving in the right direction of achieving their dreams — becoming the first-ever St. Vincent girls basketball team to reach the state final four.
“I think right now we’re really starting to find our groove,” Brie said. “We’re really starting to feel for each other and everything. We’re not reading each other’s minds but to know like, ‘She’s open, I’m going to give it to her.’ Now we can play to each other’s tendencies, so we’re really trying to push these next two weeks before postseason to just really gel together.
“... Everyone wants this — everyone’s in it, and everyone works hard. Everyone wants this experience as well because it’s very unique, and everyone’s in it as one team.”
This past fall, many of these players competed at state as members of the volleyball team; which included the Rubels, the Patricks and Emmendorfer. Brie and Kate have also played in a basketball final four back when they were freshmen at Cape Notre Dame.
However, playing for and in a community like Perryville has been something Brie and her sister Kate are sincerely grateful for and will surely cherish for the rest of their days.
“It’s been very amazing,” Rubel said. “I never really knew how tight this community was, but being welcomed into it, I can see how everyone is so close from all over Perryville. It’s really amazing how this community is.”
