By Austin Zeglis

Isabelle Harrison is no stranger to contributing to winning cultures. She helped Tennessee win two SEC championships in her college career before bursting onto the WNBA scene in 2017 with San Antonio with a career year.

She’s now getting a chance to add to her successful career by helping push the Sky to the playoffs.

Harrison came to Chicago after signing a two-year contract with the Sky in February 2023. Despite missing the entire 2023 season due to an injury, she carved out a substantial role for herself around Chicago’s young emerging roster this year by knowing exactly what she brings to the table.

“I’ve played with a lot of players, so I’ve seen a lot and experienced a lot,” Harrison said. “It feels good being able to be a vet on this team because I know what it takes. I just bring my experience to this fairly new Chicago team and I’m happy to do so.”

Unlike most of the Sky roster, who have yet to make the playoffs in their young careers, the ten-year WNBA veteran Harrison already has a few playoff appearances in her career. She made the postseason in her 2016 rookie year with the Phoenix Mercury and twice more in 2021 and 2022 while playing for the Dallas Wings. 

“I’m looking to bring that same type of experience to Chicago,” Harrison said. “I’ve been here before and I’ve done this for a while now.”

Harrison has played in seven playoff games throughout her career, averaging 5.9 points and 4.7 rebounds with a 48.7% field goal percentage.

But it isn’t just veteran leadership that Izzy brings to the Sky’s rotation this year. She was an instrumental part of the Sky’s bench rotation before the injury suffered by rookie forward Angel Reese thrust Harrison into the starting lineup. 

Harrison routinely provided a jolt of energy down low when Reese and fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso were on the bench — she ranks third among active members of the team in rebounds per game, only behind Cardoso and Chennedy Carter. But she now has the chance to do it as a full-time starter, an opportunity she said she won’t shy away from. 

“This isn’t my first time starting, so it’s not like I’m unfamiliar with it,” Harrison said. “I just wanna be able to seize this opportunity to play hard. It’s one game at a time. That’s really important for us.”

Before Reese suffered her injury during the Sky’s Sept. 6 home matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks, Harrison averaged just under 14 minutes, 5.5 points, and 3.0 rebounds per game. She’s now averaging 25.5 minutes, 11.0 points, and 6.7 rebounds since her first start for Chicago on Sept. 8. 

In that first start, Izzy scored a season-high 21 points while also recording nine rebounds and posting a team-high 16 plus/minus in a game against her former team, the Dallas Wings. 

But her focus wasn’t on her individual statline, it was on the team’s success as they continue to fight for a playoff spot.

“We still haven’t clinched,” Harrison said.

As for the ramifications of Reese’s injury on the Sky’s playoff hunt, Harrison and the rest of the team know that the loss of Chicago’s star rookie forward will leave a hole on the roster. Combined with Diamond DeShields’ recent ankle injury and Elizabeth Williams’ meniscus tear back in May, the Sky will be without three players they imagined would be crucial to a late-season push like the one they find themselves in now. 

But Harrison’s mentality might just be what propels the Sky to a playoff appearance, whether that ends up being this year or in the near future. 

“We’ve dealt with adversity all year,” Harrison said. “We’re going through it. But I feel like I just wanna bring my experience and my will to win and play hard. We have all the pieces that we need to go on this playoff stretch.”