Last season as a sophomore, Corbin junior Kallie Housley established herself as one of the top players in the region, and state after guiding the Lady Redhounds to a 13th Region championship.
Housley turned heads during the 13th Region Tournament, scoring 58 points while pulling down 18 rebounds over a three-game span against Knox Central, North Laurel and South Laurel.
With almost the same team returning, Housley and her teammates are ready to accomplish bigger things this season.
“Last season’s success is definitely being used as a driving force to push this team to repeat what we did last year,” she said. “As great of a feeling it was to win region, we can’t let it get to our heads and keep us from working. This is a new year, and we have to work hard every day to accomplish the goals we have set for ourselves as a team and individually. “It was a great feeling to be recognized alongside some of the best players in the state,” she added. “Although I am very thankful for the recognition, I would not be able to accomplish the things I did without my team. As a team, we blocked out all outside noise and came together to get over the hump and accomplish all the goals we set for ourselves. There is no better feeling than realizing that all the hard work we had put ourselves through, had finally paid off.”
Housley said she has never questioned her team’s ability to be successful.
“I knew from the very beginning this team had the chemistry, heart, and willpower to push through adversity and get things done,” she said. “Overall, I feel like we are a true team and at the end of the day, team success matters more to us than individual accolades. I am a very competitive person and can’t stand to lose. I also feel like the team all have that same mentality and competitive drive. The region tournament is obviously a ‘win or go home’ situation, and there was no room for making every excuse for ourselves.
“We all had the mentality of refusing to lie down or going out without a fight,” Housley added. “We all came together and blocked out the outside doubt and focused on what we knew we could accomplish. With all that being said, I came out confident and was willing to do whatever it took to help lead the team to a region championship. I would also like to mention our coaching staff, I truly believe we have the best coaching staff in the state. They work hard to help prepare us for any game situation and are always there to support us. They encourage us to grow as a team while also pushing us individually. We couldn’t have done it without them.”
Housley continued to work on her game during the summer, and hopes it paid off.
She’ll enter her junior season with 1,21 points scored and 400 rebounds.
“Summer ball went well, we played good competition,” she said. “This allowed us to acknowledge our strengths and weaknesses on the team and on individual levels. I and several others on the team play AAU, which at all times you are playing good players and teams. This helps a lot with growing my individual game and reaching the goal of being the best player I can be.
“I 100% welcome having a target on my and the team’s back,” Housley added. “It is a constant reminder that other teams and people are working to accomplish as much as we have, and/or keeping us from trying to repeat our success. Being said, we let the target push us every day in practice to work super hard and improve daily.”
With most of Corbin’s team returning, Housley said she’s excited to see what her and her teammates can accomplish.
“I am very confident in what this team will accomplish this year,” she said. “We have a lot of talented players who have the heart and the drive to put the work in every day. I feel our team chemistry on and off the court will take us from being a good team to being a great team. With that being said, all of these factors equal the recipe for the confidence of obtaining another region championship and having a deep postseason run.
“My individual goals for this season are to improve my shooting average and be a better defender and rebounder,” Housley added. “I would like to be ranked higher in multiple categories in the state. I would also like to get some more college offers. My goals for the team are winning the region again, making a deep run at the state tournament, and make Corbin one of the top-ranked teams in the state.”
