{"id":11312,"date":"2026-02-18T05:46:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T05:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/11312\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T05:46:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T05:46:07","slug":"addie-leonard-lake-zurich-top-south-elgin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/11312\/","title":{"rendered":"Addie Leonard, Lake Zurich top South Elgin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lake Zurich\u2019s Addie Leonard doesn\u2019t mind playing with a black sleeve on her right knee and a black brace on her left knee.<\/p>\n

Leonard had two knee surgeries \u2014 first on the right, then on the left \u2014 in a span of 11 months. So the 5-foot-10 junior guard is happy to be healthy and contributing to the Bears.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really hard to just watch all my teammates play,\u201d Leonard said. \u201cI just wanted to be back on the court so badly and tried to do everything in my power, like my rehab, to try to get back sooner. I worked hard in practice to show I was able to get back out there.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing out, it made me realize how much I love basketball and want to play at the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leonard was all over the court in a Class 4A South Elgin Regional semifinal game on Tuesday. She finished with six points, three rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot as fourth-seeded Lake Zurich defeated the 13th-seeded host Storm 36-20.<\/p>\n

The Bears (21-10), who will play fifth-seeded Rolling Meadows (18-10) in the regional championship game at 6 p.m. Thursday after routing South Elgin (17-15), have lost just three games since Leonard was cleared for heavy minutes on Jan. 1. She played for the first time this season in a North Suburban Conference game against Lake Forest on Dec. 19.<\/p>\n

\"LakeLake Zurich’s Addie Leonard (23) reacts after a win over South Elgin in a Class 4A South Elgin Regional semifinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (H. Rick Bamman \/ News-Sun)<\/p>\n

\u201cAddie came back and was basically on a pitch count until Jan. 1,\u201d Lake Zurich coach Chris Bennett said. \u201cSince then, we\u2019ve been a different team. She guards the other team\u2019s best player. In my opinion, she\u2019s the best defender in the conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer offense is developing, and when she sets her feet, she\u2019s a really good shooter. She\u2019s aggressive and plays at a different speed. She\u2019s a physical kid and doesn\u2019t do anything at half-speed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leonard, who suffered her most recent knee injury during the flag football season, prides herself on playing tough defense and is averaging 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 steals. She guarded star Lily Fisher<\/a> in the Bears\u2019 50-28 win over conference champion Libertyville on Jan. 28.<\/p>\n

Leonard, an all-conference pick in both sports, is also averaging 8.7 points after making 19 3-pointers on 45.2% shooting, a team high.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I can do a lot of stuff, like score and shoot and get other people opportunities, and I love to rebound,\u201d she said. \u201cI do a lot of different things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lake Zurich senior point guard Layne Nordstrom<\/a> agrees that Leonard sparks the Bears on both ends of the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a whole different energy since she has gotten back,\u201d Nordstrom said. \u201cShe\u2019s always been our No. 1 girl to pick up the best player on the other team. It\u2019s been a whole energy shift on defense. We get more stops.<\/p>\n

\u201cOffensively, she\u2019s great in transition. She runs the floor so well and is super strong in the paint. She adds a whole new layer to our team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LakeLake Zurich’s Addie Leonard, right, secures the ball against South Elgin’s Taleah Banner during a Class 4A South Elgin Regional semifinal game on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (H. Rick Bamman \/ News-Sun)<\/p>\n

Leonard has impressed junior forward Kaitlin Wahlund too.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has improved so much,\u201d Wahlund said, \u201cand watching her come back from her injuries was so inspiring for her teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lake Zurich\u2019s Addie Leonard doesn\u2019t mind playing with a black sleeve on her right knee and a black…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11313,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[6610,8504,8505,8506,8507,4573,899,51],"class_list":{"0":"post-11312","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-zurich","8":"tag-high-school-sports","9":"tag-illinois","10":"tag-lake-county","11":"tag-lake-county-news-sun","12":"tag-lake-county-news-sun-sports","13":"tag-lake-zurich","14":"tag-local-news","15":"tag-zurich"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}