It is an amazing career accomplishment that speaks to her character, talent, and upbringing. Someday, it will be a cherished memory.
But right now, Kailah Correa has more important, team goals to turn her attention toward.
On Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, Correa notched the 2,000th point of her storied basketball career at Lebanon High, during a 49-39 home triumph over Manheim Township. Needing 13 points to surpass the coveted milestone, the Cedar senior combo guard tallied 14 points.
“I kind of see it as a reward,” said Correa. “All those tired nights in the gym, all those hours I put in from the time I was a kid. To be rewarded in a game I love is a blessing from God. Hard work and dedication to a sport has paid off. But I’m never complacent.”
It was vintage Correa.
Read More: Kailah Correa is more than a scoring ace, team leader, or game-changer
With 6:12 left in the fourth quarter and Lebanon ahead 36-30, Correa handled near the top of the key and rubbed off her Manheim Township defender on a screen set by fellow senior Lily Harrison. Correa took a jab step, got to her favorite spot on the floor – just outside of the lane 15 feet from the bucket – she pulled up and let fly. Swish!
It was Correa’s signature shot, her signature move, a play she had executed countless times before.
“Lily was helping,” said Correa. “She called me out a screen. I saw the screen coming. Lilly’s girl switched on me. I got to my one-dribble, my two-dribble and pulled up. I knew it was good. My teammates hugged me, I went to my coach and my family came out on the floor. It was a beautiful moment for me because I got to share it with the people I love.”
“I knew she wanted to get it in that fashion,” said Lebanon head coach Jaime Walborn. “That’s how she’s gotten so many of her points in her career. It’s a shot she’s made a hundred times. Coming off a screen from Lily and that little pull-up jumper.”
Correa’s accomplishment was also historic on a number of levels.
Her 2,000th point made her only the fifth Lebanon County girls’ basketball player to ever surpass the career plateau – joining Lebanon Catholic’s Becky Hower, Cedar Crest’s Carla Munnion, Cedar Crest’s Alyse Hoover, and ELCO’s Ashli Scwab – and just the eighth local player overall to reach that summit. Correa also became the tenth Lancaster-Lebanon League female player to net 2,000 points in her career.
“It has set in, just with everyone coming up to me and congratulating me,” said Correa. “It’s just a really cool feeling. It’s so beautiful to see everyone come together over something.”
“I wanted to do it at home,” continued Correa. “Coming into the game needing 13 points, I knew I could do it. I told myself, ‘Just play your game and let it come to me.’”
“I think she was excited,” said Walborn. “I think she was just ready to do it. After she got it, she celebrated with her family and then kind of went back to business.”
Of Correa’s 2,000 career points, 320 have come from the free throw line and 312 have originated from beyond the three-point arc. Correa is a career 77 percent free throw shooter.
Correa notched an eye-popping 499 points when she burst on to the local scholastic hoops’ scene as a freshman. She followed that up with 542 sophomore points, then tallied 550 as a junior. Currently, she has scored 410 points as a senior.
Correa has played 104 career games for Lebanon High, averaging 19.2 points per outing.
“In my freshman year, people from the outside were saying, ‘You can get two K,’” said Correa. “I was thinking, “One K is good, but you can get to two K.’ In my sophomore year, when I hit my thousandth point, I thought to myself, ‘If I’m doing the math right …’ The goal is always team first. But to be able to do both is just amazing.”
“I think it’s a combination of talent, avoiding injuries and playing a lot of games,” said Walborn. “She put us on the map right away (as a freshman) and we’ve played so many games because she puts in all this work. She’s created this environment for herself. She’s humble and a very unselfish player, and the kids just really respect her. We play extra games and that’s how you do it (reach 2,000 points).”
“Even (on Tuesday night), she needed 13 points,” added Walborn. “She could’ve easily gone out and gotten her 13 points. But the result of the game is what really matters to her. That’s just her. That’s just how she is.”
That win over the Blue Streaks on Tuesday night put an exclamation point on the Cedars’ undefeated run through their Lancaster-Lebanon Section One schedule, as well as their fourth straight section championship.
“A big part of it (the 2,000 points) is my team,” said Correa, who will play her college basketball at the University of Delaware. “The fact that they’re good helps me. You’ve got to guard them, and it gives me a little breathing room. I wasn’t satisfied to hit one K. I wanted to get to big goals. We’re not done yet. We’ve got a lot more to do. We’re going to keep working.”
Read More: Lebanon High’s star point guard Kailah Correa commits to University of Delaware
“When I interviewed her in the eighth grade, 2,000 points wasn’t even a goal of hers,” said Walborn. “Probably her goal was 1,000 points. She works at it just because she loves it. She’s fallen in love with this game and it’s taking her places. The 2,000 points is icing on the cake.”
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