<p>At some point next winter, Northern Illinois women’s basketball coach Lisa Carlsen might feel the urge to put her graduate assistant in a game.</p><p>Ally Lehman will be seated at the end of the Huskies bench holding a clipboard and wearing coaching attire. However, the former Indian Creek standout, owner of 13 NIU records at the end of her playing career (2013-17), would certainly still be capable on the court.</p><p>On Aug. 16, Lehman — currently a lieutenant in the United States Army stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky — reports to her alma mater to pursue a master’s degree and be part of Carlsen’s coaching staff.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]<p>“It all kind of makes it full circle,” said Lehman, 25, who scored 1,928 points at Indian Creek and was a member of the 2013 Indiana All-Star team. “In coaching, you have to understand people well. What motivates them and makes them tick. I’m really excited about it.”</p><p>Lehman only was a couple months past her seventh birthday when the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, rocked the nation. Still, it was during those somber weeks that ensued that something clicked inside her.</p><p>“I was always intrigued by the Army,” Lehman said. “I lived, like, two minutes from Camp Atterbury, so when 9/11 happened I always went up to the soldiers and thanked them.”</p><p>She joined ROTC as a sophomore at Northern Illinois while sculpting one of the best women’s basketball careers in school history. Lehman, a 5-foot-9 study in wingspan and hustle, was advertised as a guard, but was versatile enough to play anywhere on the court.</p><p>Lehman is NIU’s career assist leader (538) and snared a single-season standard 329 rebounds as a junior. She earned Mid-American Conference West player of the week honors six times as a senior and is the only women’s player in league history to finish her career with at least 1,000 points, 900 rebounds and 500 assists.</p><p>In May 2017, she graduated from Northern Illinois as the first athlete, male or female, to complete ROTC training while competing in a collegiate sport. Lehman was one of 10 female ROTC cadets nationally to be selected for the U.S. Army infantry.</p><p>Lehman’s military duties began with 19 weeks at Fort Benning in Georgia to train as an infantry officer. Responsibilities since have ranged from being an operations officer to heavy weapons platoon leader.</p><p>Three years in ROTC and another three in the army have provided Lehman a platform in which to lead and delegate authority. Combine this with her knowledge of game and matchup situations on a basketball court, and it’s easy to see why Carlsen can’t wait to make her part of NIU hoops again.</p><p>The coach expects Lehman to be an integral part of her staff during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons.</p><p>“I’m super excited to get her back. The thing I admire most about Ally is her passion for the game,” said Carlsen, who coached Lehman as a junior and senior.</p><p>“That’s an important quality for a coach because the players around Ally will see that right away. Being a graduate assistant is an adventure for a lot of kids who were good players. We’ll do everything we can to give her coaching experience in all aspects of the game.”</p>
