Isabelle Harrison was born into a basketball team.
She was the 10th of 12 siblings in the Harrison family, a full roster for every afternoon at the driveway hoop.
The daughter of 6-foot-8 Dennis Harrison, a 10-year NFL veteran who played in a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Harrison dozen were blessed with height and hops.
And there was always someone around to play against.
“We had five-on-five real life games, we had subs,” Harrison said. “I came out with a lot of bruises and scrapes, but it was a lot of fun. We were siblings having fun with each other and we never thought about the bigger picture that we were making each other better.”
At dinnertime, Harrison says, the family had cafeteria trays and went through the line because they were all hungry athletes.
Isabelle’s older brother, David, grew to 7-foot-0 and was selected in the first round of the 2004 NBA Draft. Most of the family earned college scholarships, including the youngest, Dorie, who is about to begin her freshman season on the Kentucky women’s basketball team.
“Della, she’s the short one,” Harrison said. “She’s 5-8. Is that short?”
The constant competition at home helped Harrison prepare for a life in basketball. A Nashville native, she stayed in her home state to play at Tennessee for a legend, coach Pat Summitt. Harrison was selected in the first round of the 2015 WNBA Draft, by Phoenix.
Since being traded to the Stars in January, Harrison has enjoyed a breakout season. She’s averaging 11.9 points and 6.5 rebounds as the Stars’ starting center, tying a career-high with a 23-point game against Atlanta in the Stars’ last home game on August 12.
She’s been a key part of the Stars’ four-game home winning streak, and with one home game left in the regular season, Harrison and the Stars look to finish 2017 on a high note.
