CAMERON – After three years of dominance around the same core, it has been a new chapter for the Cameron Dragons this year, and yet, the same results thus far.
The Dragons are once again heading to the Class A state tournament in Charleston after defeating Trinity Christian 62-29 in their Class A Region 1 Co-Final matchup inside the Dragon’s Den.
Since the beginning of the year, the story around the Dragons has been the new faces stepping up after the departure of a star-studded senior class which delivered Cameron three straight state championships. Any doubts about the Dragons’ ability to match their success from years’ past has been stuffed down more and more as the season’s gone on. After picking up their fifth-straight OVAC championship earlier this season, the Dragons are now also regional champions for the fifth straight year.
“With the players that we lost last year, I think a lot of people thought that, being a small school, we weren’t going to be able to rebound and get back to Charleston,” Cameron head coach Holly Pettit said. “Like we’ve said, the girls have a chip on their shoulder. They knew that they had the chance to get to Charleston again, and this whole season they’ve played hard. We ended the season 18-3, and after losing four starters I think that’s a great accomplishment.”
The Dragons kept Trinity in check offensively all the way through Wednesday’s Co-Regional Final, surrendering only five points in the first quarter and six points in the second quarter. Quick stabs into passing lanes and tenacious ball pressure by Cameron led to a large turnover differential between the two teams. The Dragons had three turnovers to the Warriors’ 13 at halftime. The count at the final buzzer was 7-21.
“This year we can pride ourselves on our defense,” Pettit said. “We have some really great defenders on our team, and with not having a lot of size, we knew we were going to have to rely on our defense this year. Between Macey Bertram and Maci Neely, we can disrupt a lot of teams’ offense. Tonight, they showed that.”
Cameron led 16-5 after the first quarter and 34-11 at the half. Neely, who led all scorers with 23 points, came out of halftime firing with a pair of 3-pointers to extend the lead, 40-13. The senior scored 12 points in the third quarter, and sat most of the fourth quarter along with the rest of Cameron’s starters.
Neely added seven rebounds and three steals.
Kendra Thomas followed with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists. She grabbed three offensive rebounds, as Cameron had 15 as a team, nine more than Trinity.
Macey Bertram had nine points, seven rebounds and a game-high four steals. 10 Dragons scored in total.
Kate Williams led Trinity with 12 points, 10 coming in the second half. Marlo Flecker followed with seven.
The Class A State Tournament bracket was released shortly after the Cameron game’s conclusion, with the Dragons drawing the No. 4 seed and a matchup against No. 5 Pendleton County on Thursday, March 13 at 9 p.m.
For someone like Neely, who hit the game-winning shot in the state championship game as a freshman and has been off and running ever since, Charleston is a familiar stage. But while the Dragons going down to Charleston is nothing new, in a way, it is a new experience for this version of Cameron basketball.
“For them to get down there and to actually get to play out on the court, I think they’re really excited about it,” Pettit said of her team. “And I’m excited for people to see what we had sitting on the bench the past three years.”
“Sometimes winning is contagious. The success that we’ve had in the past, my senior class doesn’t know anything but being a state champion. Them, along with their teammates, they want to win, they want to be there. Others see that and they want to be a part of a good program. It’s great to see the girls get here.”
— Story by Nick Henthorn
Box score
TRINITY
Williams 6 0-6 12; Williams 1 0-0 3; Kurilko 1 3-4 5; Moorehead 1 0-0 2; Flecker 3 1-2 7; Totals 12 4-12 29.
CAMERON
Bertram 2 5-8 9; A. Thomas 1 0-2 2; Schrack 0 0-2 0; Neely 10 0-0 23; Littleton 3 0-0 6; K. Thomas 5 0-0 11; Scott 1 0-0 2; Stern 0 1-2 1; Dishman 1 0-0 2; Knight 1 0-0 2; Dobbs 2 0-0 4; Totals 26 6-14 62.
3-point goals: Trinity 1 (Williams). Cameron 4 (Neely 3, K. Thomas).
