The state of Colorado has produced its fair share of top-notch talent in girls' basketball over the years and another player already worthy of inclusion in that group is off to a torrid start to her senior season.
Mesa Ridge High School center Kylee Shook scored a career best 43 points with 17 rebounds in a win over Smoky Hill on Thursday and followed it up with 38 points, 17 rebounds, seven steals and three blocked shots in Friday’s win over host Dakota Ridge in the Battle at the Ridge tournament.
Shook went into the weekend ranked second in the state in scoring, averaging 30 points per game, but she has focused her attention on rebounding, ball-handling and being strong with the ball to finish through fouls this season.
“Rebounding is a pretty big one for me this year,” she said.
It seems almost unfair seeing Shook dominate the competition at times. She is blessed with a 6-foot-4 frame but also with uncommon athleticism for a girl her size. She can handle the ball in the open court like players much shorter. She shoots the 3-pointer well and she can defend all over the floor.
“I’ve never really liked to be stuck in the post and just post up and stay in one spot the whole game,” Shook said. “So in order to get out of the post, you have to develop those skills. I think it’s easier when you do have those skills because the teams you play have to be on their feet and you can do more things. I just think it makes it easier and more fun.”
Shook says her height comes from her mother’s side of the family. Both her parents are 6-feet tall or better, but she has relatives on her mom’s side as tall as 6-6. She always has been tall for her age, reaching 5-11 by the fifth grade and her parents Kristine and Gerald Shook have always encouraged her to try different sports.
She eventually fell in love with basketball and hopes to play professionally one day. First, she hopes to win her second Class 4A state title this season with her teammates, including fellow seniors Kiaunna Nono and Samantha Beatty, who, along with Shook, were part of the 2014 state title team at Mesa Ridge.
If shook continues playing as well all season as she has in the early going, it’s going to take a talented and gritty opponent to knock off the Grizzlies.
“I think it will depend on how hard we work and how much effort we put in,” Shook said. “I think that we can do it but it’s going to be on ourselves and how hard we push.”
ESPN ranked Shook as the 18th best player in the nation in the 2016 recruiting class. She had scholarship offers all over the nation but ultimately chose Louisville over the University of Washington. Shook already holds the career record for blocked shots in Colorado with nearly 500 to her credit and she could set the state record for career rebounding this season.
“She has just really blossomed into the leader role for us this year,” Mesa Ridge coach Jeff Beatty said. “She is one of three seniors we have and we have a lot of youth and kids who have moved in from out of state. She’s doing a real good job of getting all those kids to mesh together and getting to know each other and showing them how to do things the right way.”
Beatty says Shook is accurately described as a gym rat. Mesa Ridge is located on the south side of Colorado Springs and Shook chose to play club basketball for a team in New Mexico, still hundreds of miles away. She has spent plenty of time in the car driving back and forth to games and practices.
“We can put her on people’s guards on defense because she’s fast enough,” Beatty said. “If I want to put a bigger, slower kid in, that kid goes on the other team’s biggest player and then she’ll pick up the guard and shut them down.
“Her low game so far this year has been 21 points and we’ve played pretty high-level competition so far. She has developed to the point that it is really hard to keep her from scoring.”
