Journey back to state has been pain for Camas girls basketball team

Thursday, we feature the three girls teams from the 4A and 3A ranks: Camas, Prairie, and Skyview.

Friday, we go small-school, with three stories from the 1A ranks: King’s Way Christian boys, La Center boys, and La Center girls.

The Columbian plans to send reporters to all nine games Friday and Saturday.

CAMAS — They have endured years of bad luck, yet here they are still standing, still playing basketball.

Nikki Corbett and Brenna Khaw, two senior leaders for the Camas Papermakers, are hoping for a few more games. Together. Because they know they have had too few games together.

Corbett missed her freshman year, then some of her sophomore season before shining as a post her junior year.

Khaw started as a freshman the last time Camas made it to the state’s round of 16. But an injured knee ruined most of her junior year.

Things were looking good for their senior year, but Corbett tore up a knee and had surgery last summer, putting this season at risk. Corbett returned to action in December.

“I’m just glad I made it to play at all,” Corbett said.

Which leads them to this week. They are here now. No time to waste.

Camas will face Bellarmine Prep of Tacoma at 6 p.m. Saturday at Puyallup High School in the first round of the Class 4A state girls basketball tournament. The winner will advance to the Tacoma Dome.

“I remember being extremely nervous going into the game,” Khaw said, recalling this round when she was a freshman. “Once we lost, I was heartbroken and thinking of the seniors who were going to graduate.”

Now, she is a senior.

“I hope the girls go into this game with the same mindset me and Nikki have,” Khaw said. “We’re going into it knowing it could be our last game ever.”

Saturday’s game coincides with Corbett’s birthday. She said that was a goal, to extend the season at least until her birthday.

“We’re still in it, so let’s just win,” Corbett said. “I don’t want it to stop. I want to remember this my entire life.”

Camas made it to state in 2012 but has never played in the Tacoma Dome — now the home of the elite eight.

Corbett and Khaw want that to be part of their legacy. They have not been on the court together as much as they wanted to be, but to be together in Tacoma would be the ultimate finish to their high school careers.