Heading into her sophomore season, South Elgin point guard Izzy Fernandez was prepared for an expanded role. She was that good last winter for the Storm on the varsity as a freshman.
Coach Emily Driessen has put a lot on Fernandez’s plate in terms of leadership and ball-handling.
“She worked really hard in the offseason knowing that she was going to be more watched this season as a sophomore based on her freshman season,” Driessen said of Fernandez. “We’re really trying to push her to be more of a leader this year in the sense of ball-handling.
“She brings so much basketball knowledge and she works so hard at it. She wants that responsibility and has earned the respect of her teammates.”
That respect will rise. Fernandez led all scorers Monday night with 19 points as South Elgin earned a 59-43 nonconference win over host Jacobs in both teams’ season opener.
Fernandez added seven rebounds and three steals for South Elgin (1-0). Molly Stahl scored 16 points and Taleah Banner had 12. Mallory Fessler and Olivia Schuster tallied nine points apiece for Jacobs (0-1).
Having a season of varsity experience offers even more optimism for Fernandez.
“I think it really just helped me see how it is as a freshman,” Fernandez said. “The pace, how everything works. Now being in my second year, I’m in a different role where I have to be the leader and point guard and be vocal.
“I have to get my teammates involved and get my shots in, too. I have trust in my teammates.”
Jacobs forced an 11-11 tie in the first but the Storm finished the quarter on a 16-1 run to take control of the game. South Elgin led by 12 at halftime and by as many as 28 in the fourth.
“I was very pleased,” Driessen said. “They’ve been practicing really hard. They’re good teammates right now. They came out and executed, sometimes even to my surprise.
“They were just really in sync with each other.”
After decent start to the game, the Golden Eagles were stymied by South Elgin’s pressure.
“It’s kind of the same thing we struggle with early on every year,” Jacobs coach Jonny Reibel said. “Once the defense starts to pressure, we get behind and we get pushed out of our game and our focus, start to get a little rattled. We don’t allow ourselves to settle in.”
Fernandez’s multidimensional scoring ability was difficult for the Golden Eagles to defend.
She has the ability to hit 3-pointers — making a pair Monday — get to the basket, pressure on defense and find open teammates. That can be a difficult combination to stop.
“Anyone that has three-level scoring ability, how do you defend that?” Reibel said. “It takes a team, not just an individual. It’s being in the right spots, communication and getting around screens.
“It’s forcing her to find ways she’s uncomfortable.”
Fernandez understands that the focus of most defenses will be on her this winter, so she worked to refine her game during the offseason.
“I mainly focused on speed and conditioning,” Fernandez said. “I was running a mile two or three times a week and lifting a little bit because it is a physical game and you don’t want to get hurt.
“I’m always trying to get better at something no matter what and stay consistent.”
Fernandez confirmed that her team’s goal is to get back to winning regional titles. Monday’s opener was a positive step in that direction.
“I think it was a little surprising because a lot of us had some nerves and we have some new people too,” Fernandez said. “I think we handled it well.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
