By Jeff Cali | The Ada News
Kami Beller fondly remembers when her daughter Kelby was 8-years old and entered a free throw contest during the Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic.
Kelby Beller proudly defeated a boy from Alva and won herself a shiny, new bicycle.
“She was super excited. When I came out of the locker room at halftime, she ran up to me and said that she had won the bike,” Kami Beller, the assistant girls basketball coach at Washington High School, recalled. “I was super happy for her, but I was thinking about how we get the bike home on the bus coming home. We still have the bike. It is in our garage. She rode that bike a lot for many years.”
Kelby Beller was the water girl for Washington back then.
Fast forward to last week. Kelby made her Mid-America Classic return with her Washington teammates and almost led the Lady Warriors to a win over Class 5A power Carl Albert in a thrilling championship game Saturday night inside the Kerr Activities Center. The Lady Titans were able to hang on for dear life and defeat Washington 42-40 in a finals instant classic.
However, Kelby would be named the Mid-America Most Valuable Player for her stellar play.
Kami said she remembers Kelby always wanting to be a player in the Mid-America Tournament after bringing home the bicycle.
“She would always talk about wanting to play in the Bertha Teague. She wanted to be the first Washington team to win the tournament,” Kami said. “Her dad (Washington head football coach Brad Beller) and I would talk to her about how we would go watch the Bertha Teague when we were young and how that was the tournament that all the great ball teams would go play in. She definitely had a goal when she was little to play in it. She would always talk about how she wanted to make sure that her team was good enough to be able to get an invite to play.”
Kelby got to check that off her basketball bucket list last week and her Washington team — guided by head coach Kale Simon, a name many local fans are familiar with from his days at Roff High School — proved they were plenty good enough to compete in the prestigious annual holiday girls basketball tournament.
When tournament announcer Tyrel Jones read Beller’s name as the MVP, all of the family was surprised but thrilled.
“It was super exciting and emotional. I felt a lot of pride in our team and that Kelby was getting the opportunity to play in this tournament. I know Kelby felt the same. She really wanted to win the championship game more than anything,” Kami said. “That was her top priority and goal for the team. However, it was super special for her to win the Bertha MVP. Honestly, she said she was in shock. She thought that she didn’t think that she made it after they announced the all-tournament team and then went on to announce MVP. She said she thought that a Carl Albert girl would win it.”
Kami said by the time they got home, the huge accomplishment still hadn’t quite sunk in yet.
“When they called her name, she said she was humbled and excited that she was honored with that title. She got super emotional when we got home because she realized she would be in the history books for the tournament forever,” she said. “But still she was not happy that the team had come in second. Kelby is kinda tired of runner-up trophies.”
Kelby was widely considered one of the best freshmen players in the state last year when she and the Lady Warriors finished as runners-up to Jones in Class 2A. Jones edged Washington 39-33 in the finals but Kelby wasn’t on the floor for the final buzzer.
Late in the first quarter, Kelby was driving to the basket on a transition layup and in a blur was laying on the ground with what turned out to be a torn ACL. That was March 11, 2023. For her to be helping the Lady Warriors at the Bertha Frank Teague Mid-America Classic is an amazing feat in and of itself.
Kami said doctors told the family they didn’t think she would be able to return to the court until this month — January of 2024. Kelby had other ideas.
“Kelby told them her goal was to be back by November so that she would have time to get ready for the Bertha Teague. Kelby rehabbed three to four times a week for seven months. She also did all of her PT homework every day. She was super determined,” Kami said.
Thanks to that hard work, Kelby was given her full release on Oct. 30, way ahead of the schedule the medical professionals predicted.
Kami said she was a bit concerned about how Kelby’s knee would react to playing three consecutive grueling games at the Mid-America Classic. But, as fans can attest too, she looked great all the way to the end.
“Her dad and I, along with coach Simon, were super worried about Bertha Teague week. She had not gone three tough days in a row of playing. We knew we had to get her rest as much as we could during the games. We didn’t want what happened in the state tourney to happen again,” Kami said.
Kami said the Kelby and the Lady Warriors enjoyed their Mid-America experience — except for getting that darn runner-up trophy.
“We are super tired because it resembles a state tournament week, but we had the best time as a team. This tournament helps us prepare for the playoffs. It gives our girls tough competition and helps them prepare for what’s to come,” Kami the coach said. “We enjoy how Mid-America takes care of the players and teams. The atmosphere and excitement of the tournament make it very special to be a part of.”
Kami and Kelby would love another three-day stay in Ada, Oklahoma.
“Hopefully, we get another opportunity to play it again. Maybe next time we can reach our goal of winning the tourney,” she said.