WV’s girls basketball player of the year Lacy commits to Morehead State
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (BVM) — George Washington High School senior Kalissa Lacy won’t have far to go far when she brings her athletic skills to the collegiate level. Though she is a four-sport athlete for the Patriots — playing soccer, basketball and softball while also swimming — Lacy will stick to the hardwood at her next stop.
“I just had a feeling that basketball was one of my first loves,” Lacy said. “I didn’t realize I wanted to play college basketball until last summer. Whenever I decided to work out a little bit harder, that’s when I really discovered I loved basketball.”
On Oct. 23, Lacy verbally committed to Morehead State to continue her basketball career. Morehead State, which is only about two hours from Charleston, was one of the most recent schools to offer the senior a scholarship, offering her in mid-July after she had already received offers from a number of other programs including Coastal Carolina University, Queens University, Presbyterian College and Tampa University.
committed…💛💙 #goeagles🦅 pic.twitter.com/Y0fWvX4uOY
— kalissa lacy (@kalissalacy) October 23, 2020
Although unable to visit any of the schools due to the pandemic, when it came to making her decision, Lacy felt most at home with the staff and opportunity at Morehead.
“There were a lot of opportunities that I had, but I think the main thing about Morehead State is the family atmosphere,” Lacy said. “The coaches are always texting me and checking up on me almost as if I’m already part of the family before I even committed. So that was a big thing for me, probably my biggest thing was the family atmosphere. If you go somewhere for four years, you want to make it like a second home to you and you want to have the team be like a second family to you.”
Last season, Lacy was a star for the Patriots. By scoring 24.6 points per game, Lacy earned her second straight Mountain State Athletic Conference scoring title. Her 24.6 average was also tops for the state’s Class AAA by nearly five points and seven more than anyone else in the MSAC. Due to that dominance, Lacy was named the MSAC Player of the Year in February.
Blessed to receive MSAC Player Of The Year as a junior!!! Couldn’t have done it without all the support from my teammates and coaches❤️🏀 pic.twitter.com/yo5n3cS1O4
— kalissa lacy (@kalissalacy) February 23, 2020
“My sophomore year, a lot of coaches in the state saw me as only a shooter and not really too much else so I wanted to change that,” Lacy said. “I worked on my ability to get to the basket, my ball handling, rebounding, passing, everything not just my shooting aspect of the game. I think that’s really what made me a threat and I think that also helped my team a lot too.”
For her efforts, Lacy was named to the Class AAA all-state first team, the second straight year she earned the honor. But this honor had a twist as Lacy was also named the all-state team captain for the first-team squad.
“I was definitely pretty speechless,” Lacy said. “All the amazing players that received [the honor] before me and it’s just amazing to think that my name is up there with all those great names. Also, a big part of it is my teammates that got me there. It’s all pretty exciting.”
The accolades didn’t stop there for Lacy either. In late March, Lacy earned the Mary Ostrowski Award, given to the state’s girls basketball player of the year by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association. In a tight race, Lacy’s win came as a surprise not because of her individual talent, but the rarity of her feat. As a junior, Lacy became just the seventh underclassman to win the award and the first player off of a state-tournament-eligible team to win the award despite the team falling short of the state tournament since 1983.
“I didn’t really expect it,” Lacy said. “As a junior, not a lot of players received it. I was super excited and just hearing that news was amazing and it just made me think about all the hard work I put in and all starting to pay off.”
With the win, Lacy also became the first George Washington player to ever win the award. For Lacy, it was an honor to be recognized among some of the state’s greatest players.
“GW is a great school with great academics and great athletics so it’s really nice to be able do that for my school and to do that for my team and get more attention for them that way,” Lacy said.
The addition of Lacy should be a helpful one for the Eagles. Last season, the Eagles finished the season 10-20, going 6-12 in conference play and finishing ninth in the Ohio Valley Conference. The team also lost two of its top five scorers from a year ago in seniors Orlandra Humphries and Jaleesa Avery. With some of the Eagles’ top contributors last season being freshmen, Lacy has a good chance of seeing the court early for the team, though she isn’t worried about playing time.
“My goal is definitely to contribute the first year as much as I can,” Lacy said. “Whether that’s a lot of playing time, a little bit of playing time, helping my teammates in practice, cheering them on. As hard as I can contribute, that’s what I’m going to do no matter what it takes. Obviously I’d love to come in and play a lot of minutes, but if that’s not my role, that’s not my role.”
Now in her senior year, Lacy hasn’t slowed down. The Patriots girls soccer team defeated Oak Hill 8-0 on Oct. 28 to become Class AAA Region III champions, punching their ticket to the state tournament. Lacy was fortunate enough to help the team secure the win.
With her final basketball season on the horizon, Lacy hopes to bring some similar success her team had on the soccer pitch to the hardwood. To be able to compete in the state tournament for her final year with the Patriots basketball team would mean the world to Lacy.
“It’s always good whenever you can receive an award, but at the same time I really want a state championship,” Lacy said. “I think that’s our big goal this coming year, a state championship. It doesn’t really matter personal awards for anybody. It’s about the team and qualifying for the state tournament and getting there and finally achieving our biggest goal which is the state championship.”
With her future home already determined, Lacy will continue to work hard to bring her basketball team to another level this year. Coming off of her most dominating season to date, Lacy will be faced with plenty of obstacles as she tries to bring her Patriots back to the state tournament. While it won’t be an easy task with more teams and players keyed on keeping her in check, Lacy has proven she has what it takes to produce and win with the Patriots and she plans to before she leaves for her next opportunity with the Eagles at Morehead State.
