Top-Seeded Cameron Returns To Finals, Eyeing Three-Peat
Nick Henthorn Trending
CAMERON - For the previous three seasons the Cameron Dragons have competed for the 1A OVAC Championship, and they will do so for a fourth season after bursting past visiting Valley in the conference semifinals, 67-23.
Ashlynn Van Tassell scored 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Kenzie Clutter dished 10 assists and swiped seven steals for the victorious Dragons.
All-in-all, Cameron shot nearly 52% from the floor while holding the Lumberjills to 25% from the field.
"I liked how we got out and we were ready to play defense right off the bat," Cameron head coach Holly Pettit said. "I think that we ran the floor extremely well tonight and we had good ball movement."
For Valley, they will try and shake off a tough loss in the OVAC third-place game later this week against Conotton Valley.
"We just need to work on offense a little more," Valley head coach Tom Shannon said. "They're a pretty big team, Ashlynn Van Tassell's tough, hard to compete with that."
Cameron, who defeated Frontier in the in the 1A championship game last year, will play Trinity Christian for the conference title on Saturday inside Harrison Central high school.
"This is my fifth year coaching at Cameron and this is our fourth consecutive year in the OVAC title game," Pettit said. "I couldn't be more excited, hopefully we can get that fourth one. I think it says something about the group of girls that I have."
Cameron started Tuesday going 6-6 as a team, building a 14-2 lead with 4:30 in the first quarter. The Dragons' first missed field goal was quickly made-up for with a Van Tassell offensive rebound and putback plus a foul.
Cameron led 32-5 after the first quarter, and 44-11 at halftime. The Dragons starters played the first half of the first, second and third quarters, with only Clutter playing in the fourth quarter.
With the Dragon reserves playing significant minutes, Pettit liked what she saw from her second-string.
"I think that they did very well," Pettit said. "Again, I think that they had good ball movement, they played good defense and they're learning from a great group of girls. When they step in, they're able to fill some of those roles and I thought they did a good job. I was proud of Emma Francis and Macey Bertram who stepped up and shot the ball, played good defense."
Francis and Bertram had a good connection Tuesday, Bertram assisting on three 2-point jumpers by Francis in the first quarter alone.
Francis finished with eight points, and Bertram had seven points along with three assists.
Winter Higgins led Valley with five points, also recording three assists, four rebounds and three steals.
Emilee Dobbs also scored eight for Cameron.
Maci Neely scored 14 points on 7-9 shooting, also grabbing four rebounds, dishing two assists and nabbing four steals. The junior, who made a game-winning 3-pointer as a freshman in the state title game two seasons ago, has continued to emerge in the Dragons starting lineup.
"Maci does very well in a fast-paced game because that's what she is, she's so quick," Pettit said. "When we can run on a team, that's when she excels because she's so much faster, and she can get down the floor and Kenzie Clutter can find her and just lace the ball in. Maci usually finishes."
In the meantime before the OVAC Championship, Cameron will face Madonna in a boys and girls basketball double-header in the Dragon's Den on Wednesday.