Iron Horses’ Kellermann returns after season-ending knee injury

In a span of three days, Kylee Kellermann experienced the thrill of reaching a basketball milestone to the agony of suffering a season-ending knee injury.

 

The Philip Simmons High School basketball standout became the first Iron Horse girl to score 1,000 career points when she tallied 21 points in a victory over Bishop England on Dec. 3, 2021. The sharpshooter did it in style, hitting six 3-point goals.

 

However, the celebration turned into uncertainty when Kellermann went down with a knee injury three days later on Dec. 6, 2021, against Goose Creek.

 

Philip Simmons girls’ basketball coach Dustin Williams has played and coached basketball long enough to know what knee injuries can do to the body, psyche and career. He had several knee injuries during his playing days, and is aware of the physical and mental aspects the recovery phase of the injury requires.

 

“We tried to keep it positive when we talked about the injury,” Williams said. “I told her as far as the physical recovery goes, she would probably be stronger. But it’s the mental aspect that’s the toughest part: to trust your body.”

 

Kellermann is no stranger to hard work. She excels in two sports at the school. She is No. 4 academically in the Philip Simmons Class of 2023 and a member of the National Honor Society and Beta Club. She never doubted her return to the hardwood.

 

“That injury wasn’t going to end my career,” said Kellermann, a 5-foot-7 shooting guard who can change the complexion of a game with her 3-ball expertise. “I knew I would be back. It never entered my mind.”

 

Kellermann’s season came to a halt last year, and it cost her another all-state honor. She was averaging 19.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.8 assists per game when disaster struck. 

 

This season Kellermann is back and averaging a team-leading 17.2 points per game for the Iron Horses, who own an 8-2 record and have a goal of collecting the top prize in Class AAA when March Madness concludes. She is collecting 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.4 assists per game. And, she blocks two shots per game.

 

But numbers tell only part of the story of her value to the team. She is one of the three building blocks Williams used six years ago when the program started. It was Kellermann, Kennedy Rivers and Zhaire Mack who poured the foundation of the program beginning with their seventh-grade year as members of the varsity squad.

 

Williams hoped to build esprit de corps. What he created was a sisterhood without the sibling rivalry.

 

“We’re more than a team,” said Kellermann, whose most impressive number is her GPA, which is 5.275. “We’re a family. We do things together on and off the court. We go out together, eat together before and after games. The time together off the court helps us in a game when we have to trust each other.”

 

Kellermann, who also is an all-state selection in soccer, hasn’t decided on the college of her choice just yet.