BY IVAN SANDERS

STAR SPORTS EDITOR

ivan.sanders@elizabethton.com

If one word could describe Elizabethton Lady Cyclone Kaitlin Bailey it would most certainly have to be determined.

Bailey hasn’t had the luxury of being a Lady Cyclone that long but she took every opportunity possible to work her way into being an integral part of the girls’ basketball team at EHS.

That was however not without having to sit by and wait until transfer guidelines were met after coming from Unicoi County previously. A part of those guidelines forced her to play only junior varsity basketball for a better part of the 2018 season.

But once she was cleared to make the move to the varsity level, Bailey became an instant spark plug that united a team struggling into a championship-level team.

“I don’t think anybody expected us to win,” said Bailey of winning the district championship. “We were picked last in the conference and we ended up winning.

“It was hard getting knocked out in regionals but we beat South Greene this summer and almost beat Grainger and I think we can really go far. We are all very excited.”

Coach Lucas Andrews said that Bailey’s resolve to do what she had to do and her willingness to make the most of sitting on the sideline shows what type of person and player Bailey really is.

“She came back as a difference-maker and was a big boost for us giving us another body on a short bench anyways,” Andrews stated.

“Even though she had to sit out, she was able to sit down and learn our stuff and then come in and be productive in our system.

“That just shows her – she’s tough – a player that had to go back and play JV as a junior who wouldn’t normally have been a JV player.

“We are really honored to be a part of her career,” Andrews continued. “She comes from Unicoi Co. and could have gone anywhere at the time. We are proud that she chose here and to have been able to coach her.”

That same determination led to Anderson University taking notice of Bailey and her abilities and as a result, head Lady Trojan coach Jonathon Barbaree extended an offer to Bailey after an AAU tournament.

“After I played in Louisville this summer in my AAU tournament, they talked to me and I went down there on a visit and really liked it so I went back for an overnight visit and met the girls and it was my favorite,” Bailey said.

“I am very excited. I was pretty sold on it but once I met the girls I was pretty set on it. I loved the campus and the location and the program of study.”

Bailey plans on studying communications.

Anderson University in Anderson, SC. They are in the SAC Conference and are ranked 13^th nationally right now sporting a 4-1 early-season record.

For Bailey, there is some unfinished business still at hand before leaving the EHS campus.

“I am very excited because I believe we can go a long way this year and just to be able to be a part of the team for the whole season instead of just the end is really exciting,” Bailey said.