Lyons graduate Izzy lee will continue her athletics career at Illinois, where she will play soccer for the Fighting Illini. Supplied photo
Lyons grad Izzy Lee headed to Illini
By Randy Whalen
Correspondent
Izzy Lee grew into her role as a two-sport standout at Lyons.
Now she’s taking that growth to college at Illinois, where she will play goalie for the women’s soccer team.
A couple years ago, Lee experienced a growth spurt. Being taller and stronger predictably supplemented her soccer and hoops skills.
“I was about 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-5,” Lee said. “But the summer of COVID (2020) I grew over 6 inches. I’m 5-foot-11 now, so over that summer I just kept growing. My mom (Misty) was 4-foot-11 but then grew to be 5-foot-8 in college.
“Everyone was shocked when I came back. I had knee pains for a little bit, but [the size] helped a lot. As a goalie in soccer I knew the footwork before, but now I had the extra length.
“In basketball I was a guard, but by senior season I had switched to being a post player.”
COVID canceled the spring soccer season in 2020, and Lee stepped into the starting goalie role as a junior in 2021. She earned Second Team All-State honors while helping the Lions (20-1) to a runner-up finish in the Class 3A State Finals. Her season included a 15-game shutout streak, and she allowed just four goals, finished with 17 shutouts and had 103 saves.
During her senior season she allowed five goals, made 72 saves, and had 14 clean sheets as the Lions registered a 20-2 record before falling to Glenbard West (15-7-1) in a shootout (2-1, including 4-3 in the shootout) in a sectional final match.
“It was tough,” Lee said of losing the sectional title game. “We beat them in the regular season (2-1 on May 10) so we were expecting to win. But a highlight of the season was when we beat Loyola (1-0 on April 13 in the Group C Final of the Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Classic) and spending time with my teammates my senior year.”
Lyons girls basketball coach Meghan Hutchens coached Lee for three years.
“I watched her grow into an outstanding individual who excels in both academics and athletics,” Hutchens said. “As Isabella’s basketball coach, I witnessed her extraordinary drive, passion for excellence, and competitive edge in everything she does.”
Lee averaged 14 points and eight rebounds per game while shooting 55.5 percent from the field last season. She was named to the Third Team of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association All-State team and also to the West Suburban All-Conference squad. She helped the Lions to a 28-4 record, their best mark since going 30-5 in 1999, before losing to Whitney Young in the sectional final.
“She is a relentless competitor with endless energy, which impacts all facets of the game,” Hutchens said. “Isabella’s intensity and commitment to winning lift the best out of her teammates, everyone plays harder when she is on the floor. Her work ethic allowed her to lead the team in two main statistical categories, points and rebounds.
Lee was twice named a tournament MVP, earned All-Conference and All-Conference Academic recognition, and was selected by teammates and coaches as a varsity captain.
Lee has been playing soccer and basketball since she was 7 or 8 years old. She doesn’t prefer one over the other, she says. But when Illinois offered her an opportunity to play goalie, the choice was easy.
“It’s great to be here,” said Lee, who was in Champaign for the first official team meeting the second weekend of July. “I’ve always had Illinois at the top of my list, so once I got an offer it was a no-brainer. Both my mom and dad (Jason) went here, and three of my cousins are here now, too.”
Did she consider doing both basketball and soccer there?
“I was thinking about it,” Lee said. “But since I’m majoring in engineering a lot of my time will be taken up with school. It’s a great school both academically and athletically, and I’m super excited for the next four years.”
Local News
College Report: McAuley grad Swiatek plays hero for St. Francis
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Hannah Swiatek comes off the bench for the University of St. Francis and is averaging 3.1 points per game. But when called on for the biggest shot of her college career, the 5-foot-8 junior guard from Oak Lawn delivered. Swiatek scored the winning basket in a wild 99-97…
Evans, Adams lead Argo past Shepard on Alumni Night
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Corrspondent Argo’s Davonte Evans and Will Adams both knew it was just a matter of time before the Argonauts would find a way to beat Shepard. That time came in the third quarter of a South Suburban Red matchup, when Argo outscored Shepard en rout to a 61-52 on Jan.…
Cruz booted from SD 229 school board in Oak Lawn
Spread the loveBy Dermot Connolly There is a vacancy on the Oak Lawn Community High School District 229 School Board, after members voted 6-1 last week to remove Robert Cruz for allegedly violating his oath of office, school board policy and state statutes. Cruz, a property developer, was elected to the District 229 board in…
Hog Wild to open Monday in Oak Lawn
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Dining choices will get a boost in Oak Lawn with the arrival of Hog Wild. The restaurant is scheduled to open Monday, January 17, at 4040 W. 111th St. That’s a week later than originally scheduled. “We are very fortunate here in Oak Lawn to have attracted Hog Wild,” Oak…
$1 million Lucky Day Lotto jackpot won in Bridgeview
Spread the loveFrom staff reports If you bought a Lucky Day Lotto ticket in Bridgeview for Thursday night’s drawing, you may want to check it right away – that’s because you might be a newly-minted millionaire! Circle K gas station, located at 7050 S. Harlem Ave. in Bridgeview, sold a $1 million winning Lucky Day…
Poisoned bald eagle found in Lyons woods
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Bald eagles are becoming increasingly more common in the Chicagoland area, and avid bird enthusiasts said this is no surprise. “I have been watching the same pair of bald eagles and their offspring for 12 years now,” Sue Delfiacco said. To Delfiacco, the pair of birds are like family. Every…
Neighbors
Illinois launches summer food assistance program
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The state is launching a new program to provide food assistance during the summer for families with children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school. Gov. JB Pritzker joined other state officials and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Thursday to announce that Illinois will…
Lawmakers consider tax break for news publishers, state-sponsored journalism scholarships
By ALEX ABBEDUTO & ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A new measure being debated in the Illinois General Assembly would create a tax credit for certain news publishers based on the number of reporters they employ. The proposal from Sen. Steve Stadelman, D-Rockford, is part of a package of policies that he…
House gives OK to new state agency focused on early childhood programs
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House gave final passage Thursday to a bill establishing a new cabinet-level state agency whose mission will be to provide a kind of one-stop shop for services focusing on early childhood development and education. By the time it’s fully operational in 2026, the new…
As vacated Centralia funeral home prepares for new tenant, owner makes a startling find
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com In the basement of a Centralia funeral home in a dark hallway off the embalming room, tucked inside a nook behind two steel plates and a door, a visitor found three disembodied, neatly wrapped human legs, two of them marked with names and dated to the 1960s. The…
Illinois Supreme Court considers expectation of privacy in hospitals
By DILPREET RAJU & ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – While Cortez Turner was in a hospital room being treated for a gunshot wound to his leg in 2016, police took his clothes. Now, the Illinois Supreme Court is weighing whether that action violated Turner’s expectation of privacy under the Fourth Amendment. The…
Capitol Briefs: House OKs program for student teacher stipends – but not the funding for it
By PETER HANCOCK & ANDREW CAMPBELL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois House approved a bill Tuesday to allow student teachers to receive stipends while earning their education degree, even though the money needed to fund those stipends is unlikely to be included in next year’s budget. House Bill 4652, by Rep. Barbara…
As Medicaid redeterminations restart, about 73% of state’s recipients remain enrolled
By DILPREET RAJU Capitol News Illinois draju@capitolnewsillinois.com About 73 percent of Illinois’ Medicaid recipients remain on the rolls after the first redetermination cycle following the COVID-19 pandemic, while approximately 660,000 recipients have been disenrolled. Speaking at a news conference in Chicago, Gov. JB Pritzker celebrated the fact that 2.6 million Illinoisans remained on the rolls…
Capitol Briefs: Republicans sue over law banning legislative candidate slating
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com One week after Gov. JB Pritzker signed an elections-related measure that his fellow Democrats quickly muscled through the General Assembly, Republicans sued over the new law, alleging the majority party is blocking ballot access to would-be legislative candidates. The law , passed early this month as the legislature’s…
For Many Illinoisans in Flood-Prone Areas, Buyouts Are the Only Way Out
By Laura Stewart, Illinois Answers Project April 23, 2024 DIETERICH, Ill. – Every day, Berdeena Leturno checks her email for an update on when the state of Illinois will finally pay her $80,000. It’s been over two months since she signed the paperwork to sell her flood-damaged home as part of a buyout program, and…
Capitol Briefs: Senate advances elections bill, measure targeting ‘predatory’ lending
By PETER HANCOCK & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would put more controls on certain kinds of high-cost loans to small businesses cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday. Senate Bill 2234, known as the Small Business Financial Transparency Act, targets a relatively new kind of nontraditional lender in the credit…