BELLA VISTA -- Mindy Wishon-Brown faced some tough competition as a post player for the Rogers High girls basketball team in the late 1980s.
The 1989 Rogers graduate held her own against Fort Smith Southside's Wendy Scholtens (Vanderbilt) and Fayetteville's Dee Gibson (Wake Forest) during her basketball career in what is now the 7A-West Conference.
Brown was a bit undersized, but she was a tough and aggressive basketball player. She can thank her brother, Waylon Wishon, for some that toughness. Brown is two years older than Waylon, who played football for Arkansas in the early 1990s, but she would often play basketball against him and his buddies.
"I grew up playing basketball against Waylon and the boys," Brown said. "I held my own when I was in junior high. But in high school, it was 'OK, you win.' But you grow up with the mentality that you play with everything that you have. You don't stop until the whistle blows."
Those lessons helped Brown become one of the leading rebounders in Lady Mounties' history. She was also a member of a Lady Mounties cross country state championship team and earned All-Conference honors when she played volleyball for the first time her senior year.
For her efforts, Brown will be inducted into the Rogers High Athletic Hall of Fame, where she will join her brother, Waylon. Also being inducted in the Class of 2014 at a Sept. 27 ceremony will be Alan Davidson, Charlie Johnston, Tom Olsen, Tom Woodruff, Gary Jackson and Dickie West.
"This is a great honor," said Brown, who has been a teacher at Rogers for 20 years. "I always feel honored to be a Mountie, and to be recognized just takes it to the next level."
Brenda Alexander was the Lady Mounties' basketball and cross country coach when Brown played and she remembers her former player as a hard-nosed athlete.
"Mindy was one of those players that you could ask her to do anything and she would make it happen," Alexander said. "She was a great competitor and she was always worried about the team. She was not worried about individual accolades."
Wishon was not counted on as a scorer but she fondly remembers a nonconference game her junior season against McDonald County, Mo.
"I actually got to play against girls that were my height as a post player," Brown said. "I remember getting in a groove and when the game was over I didn't even realize how many points I scored. I scored 31 that night. I was rebound and defense, so to get some points on the board was nice."
Sports on 08/18/2014