For thousands of basketball players and millions of basketball fans around the world, "March Madness" had a whole new meaning in 2020.
Rather than representing the rabid excitement of fans coming off the "February Frenzy" that builds to a fever pitch with conference tournament games, league titles, buzzer beaters and the Big Dance, this year's version of March Madness meant billions of people accepted the benefits of social distancing, sheltering in place and quarantining amidst the worldwide outbreak of the coronavirus.
For Nebraska freshman Isabelle Bourne, the madness of 2020 included an abrupt end to the college basketball season for her and her sister, Callie, an unexpected 36-hour trip home to Australia, and two weeks of quarantining with her family.
Not exactly what Isabelle Bourne expected when she joined the Huskers, but the 6-2 forward from Canberra, Australia, known by everyone around the Nebraska program as "Issie" (sounds like IZZY) has no problem dealing with the unexpected. In fact, the No. 1 word she uses to describe herself is "resilient," just ahead of "trustworthy" and "hard-working."
Ask yourself, how many 19-year-olds would choose those three words to describe themselves first. FYI, her fourth word was "fun."
Her bright eyes, beaming smile and rich Australian accent greet everybody and every challenge with a breath of fresh air. Even the completely unexpected news that her country was calling her home immediately in mid-March amid the pandemic.
"When I found out that things were getting really bad and our Australian government was saying that anyone abroad should get home now, I packed up my things and left within two days. I was very lucky to get home when I did," Bourne said. "Fortunately, Callie and I were able to travel home together on the long, 15-hour flight from Los Angeles to Sydney. I got back to Australia on March 21st after about 36 hours total of traveling through airports. Callie and I then had to quarantine for 14 days. I am very happy to be home and safe with my family, and I am very grateful we are all still healthy."
The striking conclusion to Isabelle Bourne's freshman season came just days after she erupted for career highs of 16 points and five blocked shots against Michigan in the 2020 Big Ten Tournament.
"Issie had some real flashes of brilliance in her freshman campaign, highlighted by her performance in the Big Ten Tournament," Nebraska Coach Amy Williams said. "She grew more and more comfortable with where her opportunities were going to be to contribute for our team. She is a dependable teammate, and we look for her to step into more prominent role on the court and as a leader as we return for next season."
The strong performance by Bourne off the bench put her in a good place mentally and physically to help the Huskers potentially continue in the postseason. But the coronavirus ended the possibility of postseason play for both Issie and Callie.
"I was very disappointed, but I understand it was in our best interest," Bourne said. "Idaho State may have made the postseason too, they were still waiting on a few more results."
Despite the disappointment the entire Bourne family has kept rolling with the punches down under.
"My parents (Trent and Ann) and older sister (Emma) have been working from home, and Callie and I still had online classes to complete, so we kept busy with all that," Bourne said. "Callie and I have also been doing at-home workouts together, but we are missing the gym a lot."
No surprise that one of the top young players in Australia who grew up as the youngest child in a basketball family would be missing the gym.
Isabelle's mom, Ann, was a basketball player growing up. Isabelle's older sister, Emma, plays in the Canberra Capitals Academy, while Callie is entering her junior season at Idaho State in 2020-21. While Callie averaged 4.1 points and 3.6 rebounds as a freshman for the Bengals, she increased those numbers to 12.0 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds as a 5-9 guard this season. Isabelle will be working for similar improvement in her own numbers in her second year with the Huskers.
Before averaging 5.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 block per game as a freshman at Nebraska, Bourne had built an international reputation for herself in the Australian National Team program. A member of the Australian U17, U18 and U19 National Teams the past three years, Bourne was also a member of the Australian U17 3-on-3 Team.
At the 2019 FIBA U19 World Cup, Bourne and Australia earned a silver medal by going 5-2 with both losses to the USA U19 Team. The loss in the championship game came in overtime. Bourne averaged 8.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists over seven contests for the Gems at the World Cup.
"Issie is a mature young lady who approaches everything she does like a professional," Williams said. "Her experiences prior to Nebraska allowed her to play on a lot of different teams for many quality coaches, and she has developed an ability to adapt to different styles and systems."
Although she came to Nebraska with extensive international experience, Bourne said she grew a lot during her first season in Big Ten Conference basketball.
"I learned a lot about my own game this season," Bourne said. "For me, a big thing is that I have to come onto the court with confidence in my abilities. I am pleased with how I improved over the season with the help of my coaches, in particular Coach (Chuck) Love. A big focus I have coming out of my first season is to gain consistency in my outside shooting so I can become more of a perimeter threat."
While Bourne's home in Canberra is approximately 8,900 miles (more than 14,300 km) away from Lincoln, she was well-acquainted with Husker women's basketball and its tradition long before she set foot on its amazing campus.
"Growing up and playing with people like Kelsey Griffin has motivated me the most to become a basketball player," Bourne said.
That's right, Kelsey Griffin. The former Husker All-American from Alaska has spent her past two seasons in the WNBL leading Bourne's hometown team, the Canberra Capitals, to back-to-back Australian championships.
Griffin, a three-time WNBL Grand Final MVP and the 2019 WNBL MVP, actually led the Capitals to their second straight championship on March 4 in Canberra, the day before Bourne and the Huskers played their final game of the season at the Big Ten Tournament.
Before Griffin became a dominant player in the WNBL, an Australian citizen and a member of the Australian National Team, she was a member of the 2010 WNBA All-Rookie Team. Prior to spending 10 incredibly productive seasons around the world in professional basketball, she was one of the most dominant and inspirational players in Nebraska women's basketball history from 2005-06 to 2009-10.
When Bourne announced she was signing with Nebraska in 2018, Griffin provided a seal of approval on Twitter.
"I am beyond excited for both Issie and Nebraska Women's Basketball!" Griffin said. "I've been able to train with Issie and she's talented, works hard, but above all else is a great person!"
Current Husker post player Kate Cain is looking forward to working alongside Bourne at both ends of the court again in 2020-21.
"I was really impressed with Issie's play last year," Cain said. "As a freshman, it was easy to see the raw talent she had with the moves she made, and the athleticism she brought to the table. With a year of experience playing in the Big Ten, Issie is going to be able to bring so much more to the team next season, which is exciting to think about. I really enjoy playing with Issie in practice and in games. As bigs, it's important to be able to build chemistry on the court and read each other to help open each other up offensively and help each other defensively."
Bourne knows that in order to fulfill her own international and professional basketball dreams, she has to be willing to put in extraordinary effort.
"I think just continuing to work on my game every day is huge for my development at the moment," Bourne said. "I have been doing a lot of conditioning, body weight circuits, agility and basketball. Unfortunately, all gyms are shut down in Canberra, but we have a basketball ring in our front yard, so we have been using that."
In 2019-20, Bourne became the first Australian in history to earn a women's basketball letter at Nebraska, but she won't be the only Australian on the Husker roster in 2020-21. Ruby Porter, a guard from Adelaide, will be a freshman for the Big Red this coming season.
"I am very excited for Ruby to contribute to our team next year," Bourne said. "I have not played with her a lot, but I know she is an extremely hard-working athlete with a really nice shot."
While it has been an unexpected blessing to have extra time at home with her family because of the pandemic, she is looking forward to returning to Nebraska for the start of fall classes and the resumption of her basketball career.
"As the season went on last year I became more comfortable with our plays and I found more avenues and ways to score," Bourne said. "I also started to understand the college game much more, and I am still learning."
