UA's Isis Beh steady, no matter what she's up against: concussions, tight calls or a new position

Isis Beh knows the drill.

As a fierce competitor, the UA redshirt junior didn’t want to miss any games.

But she also knows you don’t mess with a concussion. Beh has seen far too much in her life to ever do that.

When her trainer, Bart Jameson, said she’d have to sit out the Wildcats' games against Colorado and Utah in the Pac-12 home opening weekend, she knew it was the right thing to do.

Despite having extra motivation to play against those two teams — Colorado coach JR Payne offered Beh her first scholarship, and Utah is home for the Murray native — Beh put on her UA sweats and poured all her energy into cheering on her teammates from the bench.

Still, it wasn’t ideal.

“It’s hard because it’s an uncontrollable,” Beh said. “I feel like if I sprained my ankle, OK, you could tape me tighter and I could still play. But, with (a concussion) they don’t want you to do anything.”

Beh returned and has logged important minutes in the post over the last three games.

Arizona (10-8, 2-4) looks to break a three-game losing streak as it faces Washington State (13-5, 2-3) Sunday at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman at 1 p.m.

Beh’s concussion came on after getting elbowed by a practice player in skills development. It may have been her first as a Wildcat, but it was Beh’s fifth concussion in her basketball career.

Most think of concussions happening in many sports like football, hockey or soccer. But there are a lot in basketball. Side effects include headaches, blurred vision and sensitivity to light and sounds. Athletes recover from this at their own pace and that’s why once someone is in concussion protocol, they can be considered day-to-day for their return.

Concussion protocol

Arizona has a concussion protocol process that starts with a baseline. This is not only used to help determine if it's actually a concussion, but also when they are allowed to get back to full practicing and playing. Beh was back in a week’s time, which is the earliest someone could come back.

A five-year study by the University of Michigan found that “women’s basketball, soccer, and softball had higher concussion injury rates than their male counterparts.” 

Beh wasn’t surprised at all about these situations occurring at such a large rate in basketball. She saw it up close when she was younger as an older sister struggled with concussions.

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“She had two concussions in high schools, back-to-back, and it took her a while to be able to read again,” Beh said. “She really got messed up from the concussions. When I say that when I was younger, I was like, ‘Oh, concussions are serious.’ Then, I started getting them frequently. …

“My dad (Issacher), he's a firm believer — he'd never let none of my brothers play football because he's like, ‘It's too dangerous.’ But my brother's argument always was ‘she just keeps getting concussions and you let her play basketball.’ That is fair, but anything can happen in any sport.”

That’s why whether Beh is on the court or on the bench, she makes the most of her time and does whatever she can to help her teammates.

That includes a smart pass at the right time, being in the right position to grab rebounds — including offensive rebounds — or tag-teaming with Esmery Martinez for being the loudest cheering on their teammates. She is also one of those players who does whatever is asked of her.

“Isis is a really important player for us, probably more than she even realizes it, probably more than I tell her,” Barnes said. “She does so many little things well, and she brings experience. She brings the calming effect. She doesn't do anything that's out of her wheelbox at all. She's consistent. She gives effort. You say, ‘Sprint here,’ she does that. …

“She's never played the four before. She's never been up and pressing. She's never had to do some of those things. She's doing a really good job. I would say on our team, she's the most improved, by far. To see her body when she first got here to see how she moved, to see her now and the different position, different things I've asked her to do.”

Soaking up lessons quickly

In her first game back from the concussion in the double overtime loss to Oregon State on Jan. 12, she fouled out towards the end of the first extra period. It was the fourth time fouling out this season.

It’s been an adjustment going from a more physical Big 12 to the Pac-12, which has been called more of a finesse league. Beh, along with Martinez, came from West Virginia, where the officials did not call tight games. Case in point: Beh only fouled out one time at West Virginia last season.

On the Saturday before the matchup against Oregon on Jan. 14, her coaches impressed upon her how important it is for her to not foul out with an especially limited post group.

Going into the fourth quarter against Oregon, Beh had no fouls and finished with three. Against Washington on Friday night, she had only one foul in 21 minutes.

Beh said her quick study was a result of UA coach Adia Barnes and her staff showing her when to be aggressive and when not to and understanding how the officials are calling games.

“The fouling has been a thing. We’ve talked about the ‘Isis shove,’ on drives sometimes she shoves, but she is getting better at that,” Barnes said. “She's also guarding different players than she's ever guarded. We're saying, ‘Guard on the perimeter, guard a four.’ At first, she was like, ‘Huh?’ but she's able to do it now. That’s why I say she is the most improved (player).”