Kallie Housley is only a sophomore and has already made a name for herself by scoring over 1,000 points in her high school career and earning MVP honors at the 13th Region Tournament. She led her Corbin Lady Redhounds to a region title and is now preparing to play on the biggest stage of her young career, Rupp Arena.
Corbin had to get past North Laurel and South Laurel to win the region title. They were the underdogs in both matchups. Housley admitted it only made winning that much better.
“The feeling (winning a region title) is indescribable. The feeling of all the hard work we have put in over the off-season and in-season finally paying off is amazing,” Housley said. “It was also amazing to win just because no one believed we could do it, so to prove everyone who doubted us wrong was great.”
Housley started playing basketball in the second grade. Her mom taught her how to play the game, but she credits both parents for encouraging her to work hard and improve her game. She models her game after University of Louisville player Hailey Van Lith. She also admires and looks up to her cousin, Kaylee Cotton, who played at Lipscomb University.
Housley sets herself apart with her ability to get around the defender and create her own shot. She credits skills like her hesitation dribble to playing travel basketball since the fifth grade.
“Putting time in the gym and playing AAU has really helped me develop a lot of the moves that I do,” she said. “I consider myself a small guard, and when you're playing a team who may have a couple big posts, it’s (hesitation dribble) a way to take away their height. if you pull a big out and get them outside the paint and pull the hesitation, most likely you’re getting around them and going to the bucket.”
Housley started her high school career at Whitley County but moved to Corbin before her freshman year. It didn't take long for her to feel right at home as a Lady Redhound.
“This team is a family,” she said. “We all are super close with each other, and we're together all the time. We would go to the ends of the earth for each other. When I moved to Corbin last year, I immediately felt the love from all my teammates and felt I was truly at home. When we walk inside those four lines, we are fighting for each other. I truly believe that our chemistry is what puts us above other teams."
Tim Branstetter, Sports Writer for The Kentucky Daily