“To be a captain is to balance being a leader but also a good teammate. I have to hold people accountable, but I also encourage them when they do the right things. It’s a good balance between being competitive but also being a supportive teammate.”

Senior Izzy Cruz is the starting point guard on this year’s girls basketball team, which has won four consecutive Class A New England titles. She will attend Dartmouth and play next year for the Big Green. To get to this point she has had to overcome injuries but kept on going.

“I always had the goal of being a starter here and playing college basketball,” Izzy said, “so it was keeping the eye on the prize.” She said she was thankful for her support network, which included family and friends, as she missed playing time.

What helped, too, is that her coach, Adrian Stewart ’90, also is the head of physical therapy at Loomis Chaffee. “He knows what I’m capable of and pushed me,” Izzy said. “A huge life lesson I learned is to keep working hard. ... I know it sounds cliched, but the hard work will pay off eventually. You have to put in the work day in and day out. ... You’re trying to get 1 percent better everyday, that’s what Coach Stew and I would say every time we did PT together.”

She said she wanted to go to an Ivy League school, and Dartmouth stood out. “Everything just fit,” she said.

Last year Izzy played both the shooting guard and point guard positions. As a point guard this year, she directs the traffic on the court.

“I'd say the toughest part of being a point guard is handling the pressure while also trying to create a play,” Izzy said. “As a point guard you are in charge of setting the table, making sure all your teammates are in the right place. You have to make sure you call the play [loud enough] so everyone knows what you’re running, but you also have to bring the ball up against someone who wants to steal the ball from you.”
 

Year: Senior

Hometown: Stafford Springs, Conn.

Clubs/activities: Girls varsity basketball captain, study hall proctor, has earned science, English, language, history, and math honors during her time on the Island.

On being a captain: “To be a captain is to balance being a leader but also a good teammate. I have to hold people accountable, but I also encourage them when they do the right things. It’s a good balance between being competitive but also being a supportive teammate.”

Playing for Coach Stewart: “He has high standards because he wants you to do well. When you do the little things in practice, it will show up in games.”

Favorite course or homework assignment: She said she enjoyed her forensic science course taught by Tina Hamel, a former police officer. Izzy said Tina would often share her experiences, making the class even more interesting. “And I love murder mysteries,” Izzy said. “We got to do a project where we created our own murder case and wrote a story about it.”

Favorite place on campus: “The gym. I spend so much time there. It is where, no matter what mood I’m in, I can go there, let my emotions out, and really find peace.”

Favorite meal at home: Her mom’s spaghetti with homemade sauce and garlic bread.

If you could have a robot do any chore for you, what would it be? “Rebound for me when I’m working out [shooting]. I know we have the shooting machine, but having a workout partner when working out alone would be kind of cool.”

Tell us something people might not know about you: The family has two cats, Blueberry and Kiwi. And there is a story behind them. “We got Kiwi first, about two years ago. She was my brother’s cat, but I got jealous because my brother had his own cat. One day when he came home from work, he surprised me with a cat he found that was abandoned. Blueberry was tiny, so I had to bottle feed him. ... Kiwi hated Blueberry because she thought he was a little mouse because he was so small and gray, but now they're bonded.”