At the end of a back-and-forth battle, a Cameron team which has brought down multiple school records made yet more history, becoming the first public school to threepeat in Class A history in a 50-43 victory over the Titans.

“This has been a great season, and we’ve said since day one that we want to end the season on a win,” Cameron head coach Holly Pettit said. “That’s what we did, we worked hard for it every day.”

Capping off the careers of a storied senior class, seniors Kenzie Clutter (16 points, five assists), Ashlynn Van Tassell (14 points, 19 rebounds, three blocks), Emilee Dobbs (six points, four assists) and Ashlee Dobbs (four points, four rebounds) helped the Dragons to the title.

A layup by Aliie Ellyson put the Titans up 2-0 to start the action Saturday, but a tip-in by Van Tassell would knot the score 14 seconds later, and Cameron would not trail again– although such a stat undersells the drama in-store on the court in the Civic Center.

Through the first eight minutes, Gilmer County seemed to be keeping up with Cameron at their own game– playing an aggressive press, and attacking the offensive glass. The Titans had 11 offensive rebounds in the first half against the Dragons’ 14– a category that Cameron had dominated throughout the tournament.

Another state tournament slow start had Cameron ahead 14-10 after the first quarter.

Ava Dobbins and Allie Ellyson each scored early in the second quarter to knot things 14-14– but it was all Cameron from there on out.

A 15-0 run over the remaining seven minutes of the second half looked like a possible knockout punch against the Titans.

“We were making the right reads, we had some points off transition, we had some forced turnovers,” Pettit said of the second quarter. “Kenzie had a couple 3’s. We were just reading each other well and momentum, sometimes it comes, sometimes it goes. It was in our favor and we just took advantage of it.”

Maci Neely energized the Dragons in the first half, grabbing five offensive rebounds, scoring nine points and nabbing three steals to galvanize the Dragons’ scoring run and take them into the locker rooms ahead 29-14.

“Maci has a tendency to do that, she can turn a game around so quick, she’s our little spark plug,” Pettit said of the junior. “We’ve been waiting for a game like that from her, the past few games she’s been in foul trouble, and she really hasn’t gotten to do what she usually does in games, and that’s get steals, make layups, run the floor, disrupt a team’s offense. She was able to do that today and that was key.”

Neely finished with 11 points, sitting much of the third and fourth quarters with four fouls.

Ahead by more than double their opponents score to start the second half, Cameron made life difficult for themselves in the third quarter with fouls of every sort called against the defending champs– reach-in fouls defending on the ball, offensive fouls prematurely ending possessions; the stoppages and self-inflicted wounds seemed to throw off Cameron, while Gilmer was running in-stride.

The Titans shot 50% from the floor in the third quarter after shooting 25% in the first half, going 4-5 from 3-point range, and one last three-pointer by Ellyson after she’d retrieved an offensive rebound brought the Titans within four, 39-35, at quarters’ end.

Ellyson scored 10 points in the quarter, and had 20 on the game along with four assists and seven rebounds. Ava Dobbins joined her in double figures with 10 points, also grabbing seven rebounds.

“Today was a tough game,” Pettit said. “We had a great second quarter, we told the girls that we couldn’t lose the momentum but coming out to the third quarter, Gilmer went on a run. We knew that coach Chapman was going to draw something up, because she’s a great coach, and we knew that they were going to come out ready to make a comeback, and they did, they brought it within three.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the way the girls held it together, kept their cool, played with patience and just played hard because they wanted this win.”

The Titans looked primed to tie the game and even retake the lead in the fourth, Ellyson starting the period with a 2-point jumper to bring her team within two, and the differential hanging around three for the first six minutes of the period in a stretch that resembled the defensive slog of the first quarter. The two teams shot 30% from the field combined in the fourth quarter.

While they were reeling from surrendering what had once been a commanding lead, Pettit gave credit to her crew for buckling down when they could have fallen flat.

“Holly called a timeout and told us to calm down,” Kenzie Clutter said. “Be more patient and work harder on the defensive end. I think we really stepped up and played like we knew how.”

“We knew what we’re capable of,” Pettit said. “I think patience was huge; we came up with a few stops on the defensive end, some turnovers. We did a great job, Ellyson went on a tear there and scored a lot of points, we made a little bit of an adjustment and started face guarding her, I think that was a turning point where we started pulling ahead a little bit.”

With the score frozen at 42-39 for over a minute late, Clutter found Van Tassell for a basket underneath– a combo that has become iconic between the Lady Dragons’ all-time scorer and all-time assist leader– to give Cameron some breathing room with 1:18 to play.

A Titan 3-point attempt didn’t find the mark, and after Van Tassell hauled in the rebound and dished to Clutter, Gilmer County had to foul, and from there, the slow crawl to the finish started at the free throw line for the Dragons.

Desperate offense from the Titans’ Ava Dobbins and Bayley Frasure proved moot with the Dragons going to the line every possession, and as the clock struck zero, Cameron found themselves in rarified air with three straight state championships.

“It means a lot, and it’s not just these girls up here with me, it’s this whole group,” Pettit said. “They come to practice every day and work hard.

“The coaches, coach [Mary] Van Tassell and coach [Zane] Clutter, we talk about what we need to do to be the best team out there, and it couldn’t have been done without all of these girls here. To break the record like that, that’s nothing new for these girls. They’ve set so many records and this is a good one to put in the books.”

It’s one last bit of glory for a Dragons senior class that has elevated their school to rhealms previously unheard of– four years ago, Cameron had never won a state championship. Now the Dragons class of 2024 graduates with three straight.

“They’ve been playing together forever, since they were in second, third grade,” Pettit said. “The Dobbs sisters came in sixth grade, so they know each other inside and out. They play like a team, they know each others’ roles and they do a really good job of reading each other. I think that’s been the main thing; they’ve communicated.”

After the game, Van Tassell, Clutter and Ashlee Dobbs were awarded All-Tournament team honors, with Van Tassell being named Class A Tournament MVP.

“Going out on a win with these girls, it’s all I could ever ask for,” Clutter said. “And I wish the best of luck to you guys next year.”

“It’s been awesome with these girls and these four seniors, we’re like sisters, and this whole team is family,” Van Tassell said. “To go out with a win in the state championship and set these records, it means a lot.”