Haley Hanson might have gone down, momentarily, but she was determined not to be out.
When the Camas senior left the game after getting the wind knocked out of her after a shot attempt, she came back just in time to deliver the spark the Papermakers needed.
Hanson scored 10 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Camas girls erased a nine point deficit to beat Union 45-42 at Union High School in the first game of 4A Greater St. Helens League play on Monday.
With packed stands and full student sections, seemingly evenly split with Camas and Union supporters, the environment befit that of a late February game with heavy implications on the line. For some players, that was fuel to the fire.
“These are the most fun games, I think,” Hanson said. “When their crowd is yelling at you, that’s when it’s go time.”
Added sophomore guard Katelynn Forner: “It gets us going — the energy builds up.”
Hanson accounted for more than half of her team’s points, and was the only Papermaker in double digit scoring.
“She’s the real deal,” Camas coach Scott Thompson said. “She is the bloodline of our basketball team.”
Union trailed by two at half, but opened the third quarter with a 10-0 run. Kaneyl Carpenter hit a 3 in the final seconds of the third to put the Titans up 36-27.
Hanson returned late in the third quarter. She hit a 3 early in the fourth and completed a three-point play to kick-start the Papermaker comeback.
Union’s Alexis Raymore answered with a 3 to keep Union’s lead at six early in the fourth. But Camas steadily chipped the lead away by turning to their defense, where it held Union to just eight points in the final quarter.
“We said if we’re going to get back in this thing, we’ve got to make something happen,” Thompson said. “We pushed the tempo and it worked.”
Camas’ ball movement showed on a possession that ended with Katelynn Forner driving down the lane, drawing Faith Bergstrom’s defender her way, then tossing a dime to Bergstrom for a baseline floater. The bucket brought Camas within one, at 39-38, with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter.
The Papermakers got a stop at the other end, then threaded a back door pass to a cutting Hanson, who finished at the rim to give Camas a one point lead — it’s first since early in the third quarter. The play was a coaching coup for Thompson, who noticed Union overcommitting on Hanson throughout the game. So they sent a screen, Hanson refused, and slipped baseline for a wide open layup.
“We felt like they were really getting out and denying her pressure, trying to get some lanes to the hoop and she just took them,” Thompson said. “It was awesome.”
The Titans had a final look off an inbound with six seconds to go, down two, but were not able to get a final shot off.
Union was paced by Toryi Midland, whose 12 points and five blocks served as tough matchup for the Papermakers.
“She’s a stud, it’s really hard to get it above her,” Forner said.
And when the Papermakers needed a spark, it was Hanson, a returning all-region selection who is committed to Division-II Northwest Nazarene, there to answer the call.
“She’s done this before,” Thompson said. “I’ve got a ton of really, really talented girls and they’re doing their thing and they’re really good. (Haley)’s battle-tested.”
CAMAS 45, UNION 42
CAMAS (5-3, 1-0 4A GSHL) — Jalena Carlisle 3, Haylie Johnson 2, Katelynn Forner 1, Haley Hanson 24, Hannah Booth 3, Katie Hancock 2, Faith Bergstrom 6, Kyra Seggewiss 0, Regan Cooke 4. 13 (4) 6-14 45.
UNION (4-3, 0-1 4A GSHL) — Alexis Raymore 3, Marina Morningstar 2, Toryi Midland 12, Lolo Weatherspoon 2, Abbey Kaip 9, Madison Mackay 0, Mackenzie Lewis 7, Lily Caplice 0, Kaneyl Carpenter 8, Olivia Euverman 0. 12 (3) 12-25 42.
Camas 11 14 2 18 — 45
Union 9 14 13 8 — 42
