Nevada Preps Girls Athlete of the Week: Coronado’s Kaylee Walters

Coronado senior guard Kaylee Walters said the improvements her team has made from last year have been noticeable.

“We have been working really hard to try to get better and our record is showing that,” Walters said. “It’s been really fun just how hard we’re working.”

Behind Walters’ scoring attack, the Cougars are getting better results.

She scored 22 points in a 60-50 win against Bishop Gorman Saturday at the Big City Showdown. She also scored 24 in a come-from-behind 62-57 road win at Faith Lutheran last Tuesday.

For her efforts, she was named Nevada Preps Girls Athlete of the Week.

Against Gorman, Walters said she took advantage of moving without the ball to create scoring chances.

“I’d have a split second where I could get my shot off or drive to the bucket, get to the free throw line and stay aggressive the whole time,” Walters said.

A goal for Walters in her senior year is to embrace a larger leadership role. Against Faith Lutheran, she said she spent halftime displaying her leadership skills to help Coronado get the win.

“I’m trying to lead the best I can and stay positive,” Walters said. “I want to give people feedback, but also lift them up to help them grow as players and help them feel like they can do it.”

Walters said the biggest difference from last year’s team is heart and effort on the floor from this year’s team. She pointed to the foundation laid by first-year head coach Ronald Childress as a reason for the turnaround.

“It’s helped us come a long way,” Walters said. “We’re very disciplined. We go to practice and we’re locked in all the time. It’s gotten us really far, just the work ethic he’s put on us and the effort we have to show at practice applies in games.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on Twitter.