ASHLAND — Renee Holt isn’t the slightest bit surprised by Kennedy Lacey’s meteoric rise to the top of Ashland’s career scoring list.

Holt has seen behind the curtain.

“It’s her work ethic,” Holt said after Lacey led the Arrows to a 60-37 win at Ontario earlier this week. “She’s going to outwork everybody in the gym.”

Lacey scored 23 points in the win over the Warriors, giving her 1,144 for her career. She needs just seven points to supplant Kylie Radebaugh as Ashland’s career scoring leader.

And she’s just a junior.

“Kennedy put a lot of work in during this past offseason to develop her overall game,” said Holt, who scored 2,305 points at nearby Crestview before starring at Division II powerhouse Ashland University. “She can go both ways. She can knock down 3s and has a smooth mid-range game. She’s getting on the glass at both ends.

“She’s developing as a complete basketball player to move to the next level.”

Sudden impact

The 5-foot-10 Lacey burst onto the scene as a freshman, averaging 15.7 points a game as Ashland continued its climb up the Ohio Cardinal Conference standings under Holt. The Arrows tied for third in the OCC standings at 8-6 that year and Lacey was an All-OCC first-team selection.

“When I came in as a freshman, we hadn’t had a lot of success,” Lacey said. “I was just trying to do my part and help the team get better.”

That set the stage for a record-setting 2024-25 campaign. Ashland won its first OCC championship and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1979. 

Lacey averaged 14.2 points a game. She was selected the OCC Player of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Ohio third team. Ashland fell to eventual state semifinalist Toledo Notre Dame in the regional semifinals at Bluffton.

“It was the most stressful game and the most exciting game,” Lacey said of the 63-27 loss. “I learned a ton from that game, playing such a good team.”

Historic season

The Arrows picked up this year where they left off last winter. Ashland is 18-1 and clinched its second consecutive outright OCC title in late-January. 

Lacey is averaging 22.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 3.2 steals a night.

“They’ve got the best player in the league,” Madison coach Doug Rickert said after Lacey scored 29 points in the OCC-clinching win at Madison. “When you play her, you know she’s going to get 25 points.”

Moving on up

Lacey entered her junior season with 718 points. She became the fifth member of Ashland’s 1,000-point club when she scored 13 points in a 39-34 win at New Philadelphia on Jan. 15.

In the six games since then, she surpassed Alexis Stoops (1,040), Alyssa Steury (1,060), and Taylor Rogers (1,068). She will likely catch Radebaugh in Saturday’s OCC finale at Dover.

“I had two (individual) goals for the season — to hit a thousand points and become the new scoring leader,” Lacey said. “At first it was intimidating because I’m only a junior. 

“I just try to work on the things I need to work on and get a little better each day.”

The sky’s the limit

The Arrows are 18-1 with three regular season games remaining. The tournament draw is Sunday and Ashland will almost certainly be the top seed in the Division III district.

A return trip to the regional tournament isn’t an unreasonable expectation.

“I know we can be even better this year than we were last year,” Lacey said. “We have to keep working hard.

“We want to finish the regular season strong and then get into the tournament and go from there.”

Beyond the stats

Lacey will in all probability enter her senior season as the greatest scorer in program history.

She aspires to play beyond high school, but understands there is still work to be done.

“It’s going to be really important for me to step up and lead the younger girls,” Lacey said. “I’m not very vocal, so I need to get better at that.”

Holt has no doubt Lacey will continue to improve in all aspects.

“She may not be the most vocal, but she leads by example,” Holt said. “I don’t think I became a vocal leader until I got to college, so it happens at different times for everyone.

“She’s ready to be a college player now, but I’m glad I have her for one more year.”