Kalissa Lacy had a memorable career as a member of the George Washington Patriots from 2017-2021.
Lacy piled up multiple achievements, including three-time first-team all-state selection and a recipient of the Mary Ostrowski Award in 2020 as the state’s most outstanding player.
However, once her prep career ended, Lacy returned to the bottom of the totem pole when she entered the college basketball world.
“It was hard, especially from the mental health aspect,” Lacy said. “As a student-athlete, your mental health is important, and you must ensure you take care of yourself. You have to maintain a good work ethic by going through it all. The harder you work, the more time you will get on the court. It will pay off in the long run.”
In her second season at Eastern Kentucky, Lacy, a 5-foot-9 guard, has appeared in 51 games. She has improved nearly every statistical category in her sophomore season, including scoring, while averaging 8.5 points for the Colonels.
“It has gone well. I have doubled my minutes since last year,” Lacy noted. “I have grown as a player and a person. My role last season was to come in and shoot the three. This season, I have become more of a threat, especially by attacking the basket. My defense has picked up. We are sharing the ball better as a team and have played well in conference play.”
Lacy’s minutes have increased on average from nearly seven to 16. She credits her work behind the scenes as a significant factor to the increase in playing time.
“I worked hard during the offseason to get in better shape and be able to play better defense,” Lacy noted. “I think the coaching staff saw that, and they saw how I have progressively gotten better on both ends of the floor.”
Lacy has scored in double figures six times this season. She recorded a career-high 17 points on November 23 against Midway, and most recently scored 12 and 16 points, respectively, against Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson, while making four 3s in each contest. For the season, Lacy is 42 for 109 (38.5 percent) on 3-pointers.
“My coaches trust me more this year than last,” Lacy said. “My teammates make sure we are all sharing the ball. We are all clicking together, and we are all trusting each other in that aspect.”
Eastern Kentucky (13-9, 6-3 Atlantic Sun) has nine regular season contests remaining, during which time Lacy hopes to continue improving.
“I still want to adapt more on the defensive end of the floor, including drawing more charges, getting more steals, and rebounding better,” Lacy said. “I need to continue being tougher on that end of the floor. Also, I need to adapt to driving to the basket.”
Lacy’s believes maintaining balance is a big factor in her success on and off the court.
“It is important to keep a good schedule,” Lacy said. “We have a great academic center here at EKU that helps with that. We have academic advisors that help us with that, along with our coaches. Each coach is assigned a few players to meet with weekly to discuss their academics and ensure they stay on top.”
Having seen her hard work pay off in the form of becoming an impact player at the Division I level,
Lacy offered a message to younger athletes striving to do the same.
“I would say to keep working at it,” Lacy said. “There will be days when you are tired and do not feel like going to the gym. But, go to the gym because it will be worth it in the long run.”