Izzy Callaway 'Enchanted' with her decision to play final two years at home with Copley

The senior is averaging a team-best 19.1 points per game this season for the Indians

COPLEY, Ohio - In a weird way, Izzy Callaway's favorite Taylor Swift song - "Enchanted" - could tell the story of her high school basketball career.

A Copley kid, the senior guard is in her second season at Copley after playing the first two seasons at Archbishop Hoban before transferring back home to play with the girls she grew up with for her junior and senior seasons.

"It was definitely a really hard decision for me and there was kind of a lot to go into it," Callaway said. "I kind of needed a change. I missed my hometown, I missed all my friends. You know, I feel like this was just a better place for me at the time."

When Callaway arrived at Copley, she did so at the same time as head coach Julie Solis, and the two have formed a tight bond in just the two seasons. So much so that Solis was fighting the urge to get emotional when talking about Callaway after Copley's win against Buckeye on Wednesday in the Division II sectional semifinals.

"It was kind of weird before we started the game," Solis said. "I was thinking I don't want a last game with Izzy. I just really have enjoyed the last two years with her."

That's a two-way street, as the player said she would miss the coach as well when this season is over.

"I'll definitely remember the relationships probably the most, especially with coach Solis," Callaway said. "It's only been two years here, but I feel like I've known her forever. Coming into this we both knew we had a special bond, but she's taught me so much not just as a player, but kind of just as a person, about the person that I want to be when I grow up. She's a great role model for that."

After all, it was the coaching of Solis that helped Callaway remember how talented she is at basketball, and the guard is averaging a team-high 19.1 points per game this season after having the same numbers a year ago. And then this year, she has focused more on defense, becoming the best version of herself on that end of the floor that she has ever been.

"Coach gave me my confidence back that I needed," Callaway said. "And I feel like I contributed a lot more here at Copley than I did at Hoban." 

In a way, it was like the hook of "Enchanted"

"And it was enchanting to meet you
All I can say is, I was enchanted to meet you"

Copley's Izzy Callaway goes up for a shot in a win over Buckeye in the Division II sectional semifinals on February 21, 2024 / Jeff Harwell, SBLive Sports

Together at Copley, Solis and Callaway have gone 43-5, including 28-0 in the Suburban League American Division, with two league titles. 

But there has been disappointment as well.

Considered by most as a favorite last season to make a deep playoff run and quite possibly finish the season in Dayton for the Division II state tournament, the Indians met an early exit at the hands of Northwest in the district final.

It wasn't the first time Callaway had experienced this, however.

As a sophomore at Hoban, the Knights were considered by many as the favorite to win the Division I state title, but they fell short with a loss to St. Joseph Academy in the regional semifinals.

"Those are definitely two super big losses," Callaway said. "At Hoban, nobody expected us to lose at all. That was really hard. It was a hard year all around for us."

While the Hoban loss hurt, it was the loss last season in her first year at Copley that has stuck with Callaway the most because of how much she contributed to the team. 

"I feel like last year might have been even harder for me," Callaway said. "It was just more of a personal loss."

But like most great players, Callaway didn't hang her head. She went right back to work and let those losses be the motivation for her senior year.

"Now that I know what it feels like to lose, I know that's a feeling I never want to feel again," Callaway said. "I kind of use that as fuel."

It's that fuel that keep Callaway working in the gym at all hours and what makes her coach put her in a category with the best players she has coached.

"You can't ask for a harder worker, she's a kid who just loves the game and wants to continue to get better at it," Solis said. "She is always in the gym. The special ones that I've had in my career, they're always in the gym and she's one of them." 

One thing Callaway does - as most great shooters do - is end every workout or shoot around with a make. On Wednesday, she missed a 3-pointer in warmups as the team was about to leave the floor, but she got another ball and put up a shot from the same spot, this one hitting nothing but the bottom of the net.

"I'm pretty superstitious as a player," Callaway jokes. "I try not to let things get into my head like that. But that's just kind of how I've always been, I like to end things on a good note."

And Callaway would like to see her senior season end on a good note before she is off to play at Walsh University next year. For the Indians, that would mean a deep run in the Division II postseason, which continues on February 24th at home against Akron East in the sectional final. If Copley wins that game, it would be off to the district semifinals at Elyria on February 28th, where the Indians would be the top seed in the district, having earned the No. 2 overall seed among the five Northeast districts in Division II. 

But no matter how the season ends for Copley, Callaway is happy with the decision she made after her sophomore year. She is where she feels like she belongs, making memories with the kids she has known for a lifetime. And they all want to take that final shot at glory.

"I'm glad to be here for my last year," Callaway said. "It's gonna be hard when high school is all over, but we want to make the most of it now. This is the last go-round for me and other seniors. So we're just trying to put everything we can into it."

As Taylor Swift sings in "Enchanted":

"This is me praying that
This was the very first page
Not where the story line ends."

For Callaway and the Indians, they hope the story is far from finished.