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W.VA. PREP BASKETBALL PREVIEW: Cameron Will Have 8-9 Girls in the Mix

CAMERON — Cameron girls’ coach Holly Pettit had a solid first-year campaign in 2019-20. Her Dragon squad put together a winning season, made it to the OVAC Class A Championship game and was one game away from making it to the state tournament.

“As a first-year head coach, everything is kind of thrown at you,” Pettit said. “I didn’t know a lot about the opposing teams that we played. I knew a lot about the girls at Cameron, but a lot of the teams we played against, I didn’t know a lot of the names and numbers. By scouting and stuff like that, I learned a lot of the players and learned who the coaches are.

“I think the assistant coaches and I brought a lot of excitement and enthusiasm to the Cameron program. We had such an intense season and the girls came ready to play every game and they adjusted to anything we needed to do. I think all-in-all it was a good rookie season for myself. I’m kind of glad I got that under my belt.”

Pettit’s second year was up in the air as after three practices in November, practices were shut down due to the coronavirus.

Not knowing if her team was going to step on the court this year, being able to see her squad again to practice in February, made for a sweet reunion.

The Dragons return a plethora of talent from the 2019-20 squad. However they did lose a couple of key pieces in Maelyn Canada and Kendra Dobbs as both of them picked up their diplomas.

Lili Neely returns for her senior campaign after scoring around 13 points a game last year.

Classmate Regagan Gray, also returns as a post player for the Dragonsand who Pettit described as a great defensive player.

The third senior on the Dragons’ roster is Emma Whipkey, who will be at the guard position.

“All three seniors, they’re very coachable kids,” Pettit said. “And as a coach, that’s what you want.”

Sophomore Aubre Cain-Loy could be in the mix as a starter. Last year as a freshman, she stepped in several games.

Some newcomers include Ashlynn Vantassall who will help out the Dragons in the post standing at 6-foot-1. Pettit said she will be a tremendous help as one thing the Dragons lacked last year was size underneath the basket.

Freshman Kenzie Clutter will be a point guard for the Dragons while classmates Emilee Dobbs and Ashlee Dobbs will look to see some playing time too.

Gracie Carter, Ashlee Neehouse and Gretchen Foster are the sophomores while Katelynn Vantassall is the other freshman on the team.

“I have a great eight or nine players that I can put in the mix and sometimes that’s a great problem to have,” Pettit said. ”

The Dragons will open their season Wednesday as they host Clay-Battelle. Cameron also has some big games on the slate as it will play a home-and-home against Oak Glen (Class AAA) and Brooke (Class AAAA).

However, when it comes to goals, some things just remain the same.

“Just obviously make it to Charleston,” Pettit said. “That’s everyone’s No. 1 goal. It’s something that’s never been done at Cameron, so it would be great to do that.”

“I want to be able to just to get the girls on the court to actually play a basketball game. The kids have dealt with so much already. Just to get in a season would be an accomplishment. A winning season at that. But the ultimate goal is to make it to Charleston, let those girls step foot in the Civic Center and see what the big show is all about.”

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