Isabelle Connors rides senior urgency to the basketball finish line

Tom Keegan
onwardtrojans.com

When a star basketball player suffers a long-term injury, the first words to come out of the coach’s mouth seldom vary: “No one player can replace (injured player’s name). All the players are going to have to pick up their games. No one player can do it.”
True enough, but there is no denying that the player who bears the brunt of the burden is the one who fills in at her position.
When athletic Chesterton junior Tenley Davis suffered a season-ending aversion fracture of the ankle in the 12th game, that one player was senior Isabelle Connors, the next-tallest player in the starting lineup, the next-best rebounder, the next-best equipped to provide points in the paint.
That was a lot to take on, even for a senior as talented as Connors. At first, she struggled to make the adjustment and so did the team.
In part because the injury happened just as a tough stretch of the schedule arrived, Chesterton went 1-4 and finished on a 4-1 run, again in part because of the schedule.
But it was more than the opposition easing that turned the Trojans’ season. They learned how to play without Davis, an All-DAC selection as a Sophomore.
Teammates rallied to support Connors. Kenedi Bradley picked up her rebounding. Seniors Liz St. Marie and Hailey Geiser played the best basketball of their careers, having Connors’ back when she needed a rest or encountered foul trouble, and hustling to ease her load when on the court with her. That’s what good teammates do.
And nobody improved her play more than Connors.
In the first four games without Davis, Connors made 3 of 22 field goal attempts (.136 pct.), 3 of 9 free throws (.333) and averaged 2.3 points and 3.8 rebounds.
In the next five games, starting with a 51-40 loss to Merrillville, Connors made 17 of 29 field goals (.586), 8 of 12 free throws (.667) and averaged 6.7 points and 4.7 rebounds.
That’s not all because of the competition easing, unless you believe that stronger teams defend free throws better.
Merrillville is ranked No. 54, Hammond Central No. 71 in the state in the Sagarin computer ratings that appear on johnharrell.net.
Wawasee and Westville, early opponents in the wake of Davis’ injury, rank 167 and 111.
Connors’ combined stats vs. Wawasee and Westville: 2 for 13 FG (.154), 3 for 9 FT (.333), 3.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg.
Her combined stats vs. Merrillville and Hammond Central: 9 of 13 FG (.692), 10.5 ppg, 5 rpg.
There you have it. She didn’t play better down the stretch because of the level of competition. She did it because she figured out how to play her new role by taking coaching well and taking fuel from teammates, as the girls on the team grew closer and closer as the season progressed.
Just in the nick of time for the postseason, Connors seems to be getting the hang of the Virgil Sweet free throw shooting method that Coach Candy Wilson brought with her from her previous job as Valparaiso head coach.
At 5-foot-10, Connors typically guards and is guarded by taller players. She’s holding her own, all the more impressive considering that she started her Chesterton basketball career as a freshman on the JV, spending much of her time on the perimeter, guarding and guarded by smaller players. Her game eventually migrated inside, the final step coming when Davis fractured her ankle.
“She’s been playing really, really well, and really stepped up in practice vocally,” Wilson said. “She’s been vocal, physical, running the floor. She’s an intense kid. When she’s angry, watch out.”
Connors’ intensity is most visible when she’s hunting offensive rebounds, a strength of hers.
Aside from learning how to play without and in some ways in place of Davis, smelling the finish line also contributes to Connors playing so well of late, at least in the games in which she avoids foul trouble.
“Being more team-oriented and realizing it’s my last year, it makes me enjoy things more,” Connors said. “Other years, you have another season to look forward to. This year, I just want to show up, work hard, give it 100% while I’m here and I can, because then it’s going to be done.”
Apparently, practices and games don’t quite satisfy Connors’ hunger to be around the game, so she is doing an internship, splitting time between working with Wilson in the girls basketball office and strength and conditioning coach Matt Wagner in the weight room. Connors enters lifting numbers furnished her by Wagner into a computer and interprets them with him.
“The time I’m with Coach Wilson, I’ll do team stuff. I’ll help with the jerseys and getting everything ready for game day, things that make it easier for the girls,” Connors said. “Sometimes we’ll watch film and stuff. It’s a cool opportunity.”
St. Marie and Geiser, first teammates with Connors in seventh grade, share her senior urgency.
“They always work hard at practice and they’re having their opportunity to shine, and that makes me really happy,” Connors said of the only other members of the senior class on the team. “We used to have a lot more with us, but it’s just us three that are left and that makes it really special.”