Cameron Rallies By Webster County To Reach ‘A’ Finals
Dragons Overcome No Points In 2nd Quarter; Try For Repeat Today
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CHARLESTON -- Tournament time is all about surviving and advancing. Cameron did just that Friday afternoon to give itself a chance to go back-to-back.
The defending W.Va. Class A state champion Dragons (21-6) overcame a scoreless second quarter and another 40-point outburst in posting a 54-41 come-from-behind victory over No. 5 Webster County (19-8) inside the Civic Center Coliseum.
"It was a tough one today. We didn't play our best, but fortunately we won and play again tomorrow," Cameron head coach Holly Pettit said. "I told the girls at halftime we need to get back in this game. We need to hit the boards harder because Webster County was out rebounding us, and we did a better job of rebounding in the second half.
"I told them that I wasn't giving up on them so they couldn't give up on themselves."
Cameron took the lead for good on an offensive rebound and putback by Ashlynn Van Tassell that made it 51-50 with 30 seconds left to play. Then, with 10.8 seconds remaining, the 6-3 junior snagged the last of her team's 25 offensive rebounds off a missed free throw. She was fouled and knocked down both for a 53-50 advantage.
The Highlanders' Sydney Baird, a 2,000-point scorer who finished with a game-high 40, made the first of a 1-and-1 with 3.5 seconds showing and, after a timeout, intentionally tried to miss the second. However, her shot didn't hit the rim and Van Tassell collected her 21st rebound while being fouled with 1.1 remaining.
Van Tassell, who picked up her fourth foul with 6:11 left to play and spent a couple of minutes on the bench, tickled the twine on her first attempt for a 54-51 score and missed the second. Webster County rebounded but Kenzie Clutter stole the ball as the buzzer sounded.
"Kenzie doesn't get enough credit for her play," Pettit stressed of her junior point guard. She's the reason why we've won a lot of games. She is a really good point guard and she proved that today."
The Dragons built a 15-5 lead in the first quarter and led 17-11 heading into the second.
After shooting 7-for-17 from the floor in the first quarter, Cameron couldn't have thrown a beach ball into the ocean from the boardwalk in the second. It went an ice-cold 0-for-14 during a stretch from late in the first quarter until VanTassell scored early in the third quarter, a span of nearly nine minutes.
"We were getting good looks. They ball just was falling for us," Pettit noted. "It was just one of those quarters."
Baird was one of only four Highlanders to reach double figures. She finished 14 of 30 from the floor, including 3-for-3 on bonus goals, and also grabbed six rebounds.
Van Tassell ran her double-double streak to five straight in state tournament action as she added 24 points to her aforementioned rebound total. Clutter added 15 points, with 13 coming in the second half when he drilled a trio of treys. Clutter also charted four rebounds, six assists and four steals. Emilee Dobbs had eight points and a trio of helpers.
The Dragons led 44-33 off the glass as Maci Neely, who was in foul trouble early, had five. They also had three less turnovers at 12-9.
With the hard-earned victory, Cameron will meet Tucker County Saturday at 12:30 p.m. for the Class A title.