Cameron Routs Madonna
CAMERON -- What makes the Cameron girls' basketball team so dangerous is that it has several ways it can win games.
That was on full display on Thursday night as the Dragons used its defense before eventually hitting its stride offensively en route to a 62-13 rout of visiting Madonna.
"The first couple of quarters I'd say our shooting percentage was about 10%," Cameron coach Holly Pettit said. "We missed a lot of easy putbacks. We were fortunate that our defense was playing really well. We caused a lot of turnovers and we rebounded well. We just couldn't put the ball in the basket. I know the score doesn't show it but I think we missed a lot of easy opportunities. That's something we'll have to improve on as the season goes."
Despite the low shooting percentage, the Dragons led 17-0 at the end of the first quarter and began the game on a 25-0 run before taking a commanding 37-5 lead into the half.
Anna Backel netted the Dons' first field goal of the contest with 5:20 to go in the second quarter.
Ashlynn Van Tassell netted 10 points in the first half to lead the Dragons, followed by Kenzie Clutter with eight and freshman Maci Neely with six.
"I've always said that defense wins ball games," Pettit said. "I have confidence that our girls can put the ball in the basket but defense wins basketball games. If we come out and we are the better defensive team, then we are going to win the ball game. We worked really hard in practice to get the girls physically ready to be able to play 94-feet the entire game."
Cameron outscored Madonna 11-5 in the third and 14-3 in the fourth as the Dragons continued their hot start to the campaign with their third straight win.
Van Tassell paved the way with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Emilee Dobbs garnered 12 points, Neely tallied 10 points and seven boards and Kenzie Clutter added 10 points in the triumph.
"We have everybody back from last year except three seniors that we lost," Pettit said. "I think a couple of our juniors and sophomores have stepped up. Freshman Maci Neely really stepped up. She kind of gives our team a little bit of a spark. Sometimes that's what we need. They really gel together. They are a selfless group. We had a size advantage (Thursday) but Ashlynn Van Tassell would pass the ball back out because she wanted to see her teammates score."
Vanessa Alatis paced Madonna with seven points.