The improbable story behind IHSAA’s new all-time leading female rebounder
GREENWOOD, Ind. (WISH) — Indiana high school basketball won’t forget Izzy Reed anytime soon.
Reed first passed her mother’s high school rebounding total, no small feat as Olivia Oxley Reed was a 1,000-point scorer during her standout run at Greenwood High School.
Then Reed attacked Greenwood Christian’s all-time program mark. Down that went, too.
This February, as the Cougars marched to the IHSAA regional round, Reed made serious history.
With 1,309 career rebounds, she set the new IHSAA all-time girls basketball career mark.
The most bizarre part of this tale: All of this went down, at what height?
“5-foot-8 barely…I don’t know,” Reed said. “I think rebounding is a lot about effort. A lot about grit and going after the ball.”
Her coach, Alan Weems, beamed in agreement.
“Izzy is a one of a kind,” Weems said. “I have never coached someone that size who attacks rebounding the way she does.”
“God has blessed her with some natural athletic ability,” Oxley-Reed added. “What makes her super special is who she is and the heart that she plays with.”
As improbable a story as this is, it doesn’t conclude quietly as Reed recently received a meaningful message from Indiana’s previous rebounding record holder, former Brebeuf Jesuit star and former WNBA top 10 pick Ta’Shia Phillips.
“With her being 5-foot-8, maybe 5-foot-9 in gym shoes and pulling off this record, that is awesome,” Phillips said. “That shows the tenacity, heart and effort she has. Like I said, that is a straight up congratulations.”
For Reed, Phillips’ congratulations meant everything.
“Brebeuf, WNBA: She is a big deal,” Reed said. “That is awesome that my name is even anywhere next to hers.”
Reed and Greenwood Christian made the most of their season, returning to the IHSAA Class A semistate round for the second consecutive season, before falling 43-33 to Loogootee at Jasper on Saturday.
Let Izzy Reed be a lesson: Scrappy never goes out of style.