The Camas girls basketball team has earned another shot at Prairie.
Camas overcame a slow start to top Kelso 54-43 Thursday at Fort Vancouver High School in the semifinals of the Class 3A district tournament.
Sydney Allen scored 17 points, Jenka Stiasna had all 13 of her points in the second half, and freshman Brenna Khaw had a solid all-around performance to pace the Papermakers.
Camas (16-6), which led Prairie at the half the last time the two teams played, will face Prairie in the district title game at 6 p.m. Friday at Fort Vancouver.
To get to the finals, the Papermakers had to prove themselves against the Hilanders (12-10) one more time this season. Camas is 3-1 against Kelso.
For a quarter, it looked as if Kelso was going to tie that season series and move to the title game. The Hilanders raced out to a 13-4 lead after the first.
“We (played) scared because they’re a real physical team,” Khaw said. “We finally started playing physical after the first quarter.”
Camas coach Chuck Knight agreed with that assessment.
“Mentally, at first, we were a little bit rattled for whatever reason,” he said. “Into the second quarter, we started to settle down. At halftime, we talked about channeling our energy in the right direction.”
Camas had regained the lead by the start of the fourth quarter.
Khaw finished with 12 points, five assists, and five steals. She had two assists to Allen midway through the fourth quarter, putting the Papermakers in control for good at 41-35.
“It feels great to be playing with these kinds of players,” Khaw said. “I like playing with Sydney on the fast break. Whenever I pass it to her, I know she’ll finish.”
Before the Papermakers could get it going with the break, they had to break down the Kelso defense in the half-court set.
Stiasna did that with 12 third-quarter points as Camas erased a six-point deficit to lead by three going into the final period. Stiasna would finish the night 6 of 8 from the floor.
“She’s always part of the plan,” Knight said. “She’s really tough down there.”
Taylor Pritchett led Kelso with 10 points, but none of the Hilanders could get much going on offense. Not a single player had more than two field goals against the Camas defense.
Allen finished 8 of 13 from the floor. She also had four assists.
Sierra Brown just missed a double-double for the Papermakers. She shined off the bench with nine points and 10 rebounds.
Her three-point play early in the fourth gave Camas a four-point advantage. The game never got any closer.
Next up is Friday’s title game against Prairie. The two programs have some history. Camas ended Prairie’s 10-year-long win streak against Clark County teams with a victory in the 2010 district championship game. Then just a couple weeks ago, the Papermakers led the top-ranked team in the state at the half.
There were no bold statements after Thursday’s win. The Papermakers were just thrilled to have advanced, to have another opportunity against the Falcons.
CAMAS 54, KELSO 43
KELSO (12-10)– Natasha Marith 8, Kailynn Rae 6, Kylynne Whitright 0, Brianna Sorenson 0, Taylor Prichett 10, Jamilee Iddings 5, Kalena Gustin 5, Taylor Leach 4, Sierra Richards 5. Totals 13-39 (0-8) 17-21 43.
CAMAS (16-6)– Paige Jackson 0, Sydney Allen 17, Rachel Rice 0, Sierra Brown 9, McKenna Jackson 0, Kathryn Johnson 0, Brenna Khaw 12, Lauren Neff 0, Kendra Preuninger 3, Tatum Schroeder 0, Jenka Stiasna 13. Totals 22-53 (2-9) 8-19 54.
Kelso 13 8 10 12–43
Camas 4 11 19 20–54
