But when she saw her shot clatter into the rim and ping away, well, let us just say her mind wandered off in a darker direction.
As luck would have it, the ball hurtled through the air, all the way to Steel wing attack Shannon Francois, who was waiting on the edge of the circle and gladly scooped up the ball.
Ironically, it turns out that miss might have helped seal the Steel's dramatic 66-65 win over the Fever in Dunedin on Saturday afternoon, in front of a crowd of about 1800.
The Steel had some time to kill and that miss soaked up valuable seconds. When Brown put the shot up, the scores were level and there was still 30 seconds remaining.
Had she scored at that point, the Fever would have had plenty of time to find an equaliser and force extra time.
By the time fellow Steel shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Reid calmly slotted the winner from underneath the net, there was just eight seconds remaining.
The Fever heaved the ball up court towards star shooter Caitlin Bassett, who had a superb match with 50 goals from 53 attempts, but Steel defenders Erena Mikaere and Rachel Rasmussen had anticipated the pass and sandwiched the towering shooter. One of them managed to spike the ball away and the game was won.
The question is: was that miss all part of the plan?
''That is what my 33 years of netball has taught me,'' Brown joked shortly after her side's dramatic victory.
The miss was not deliberate, of course. But the Steel had rehearsed what to do if it was in a situation where the team needed to run the clock down before delivering the coup de grace.
''It is funny because, at training this week, we actually practised being two down and having to get a turnover and score,'' Brown said.
''I said to Janine [Steel coach Janine Southby], 'Do we have to use up some time or score quickly?' and look, it paid off.''
It sure did. The win came as a relief for the franchise because it had lost its opening three games, and its playoffs prospects would have slipped further away with a fourth consecutive defeat. Also, as a matter of pride, the Steel became the first New Zealand team to beat an Australian team this season.
Donning black armbands in recognition of former Otago and New Zealand A coach Sheryll Roy, who died last month, the Steel enjoyed an eight-goal lead at halftime but weathered a gutsy fight back from the visitors.
The Fever outscored the Steel 36-29 but, ultimately, a poor second quarter proved costly.
The Steel made a crucial personnel change with goal keep Mikaere getting a start ahead of Phoenix Karaka, who was heavily penalised in the loss to the Magic.
It proved an inspired move, as the lanky 1.93m athlete really cramped Bassett's space inside the circle.
Mikaere used her height and vertical leap to spike the ball away several times. She also swooped on some loose ball and just generally made a nuisance of herself.
At the other end of the court, the Steel's shooters were flawless, drilling 19 goals from 19 attempts to give the Steel a 19-16 lead at the break.
The Steel made its decisive move towards the end of the half with a seven-goal scoring spree which ultimately helped set up the win.
Perth is a long way from Dunedin, and the visiting side produced a lacklustre opening 30 minutes.
Fever coach Norma Plummer made changes late in the half, introducing goal defence Courtney Bruce and wing defence Shae Bolton.
They brought the energy Plummer would have been looking for and the Fever outscored the Steel 20-15 in the crucial third quarter and had the momentum going into the final 15 minutes.
''It means a lot,'' Brown said of the Steel's win.
''We've been training hard and have been hungry ... but I think this win will do wonders for us.''
The Steel travels to Adelaide to play the Thunderbirds on Sunday - and it is a tough assignment. The defending champions are undefeated after three games this season.
In other games, the NSW Swifts beat the Queensland Firebirds 53-48, the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic downed the Melbourne Vixens 49-44 and the Tactix beat the Pulse 55-53.
ANZ Championship
The scores
Southern Steel 66
Jhaniele Fowler-Reid 42 from 43, Jodi Brown 24/29
West Coast Fever 65
Caitlin Bassett 50/53, Natalie Medhurst 15/17
Quarter scores: 1st 19-16, 2nd 37-29, 3rd 52-49.
