CAMAS — The Camas girls basketball team spent most of Friday trying to figure out how it would adjust without its second leading scorer and sharpshooter Hannah Booth.
Then came a series of unexpected twists.
Before league showdown Friday night against Skyview, Camas coach Scott Thompson received a text that Booth, who had spent the previous two days in the hospital treating blood clots, was suddenly out and cleared to play. Not long after, he heard Skyview’s returning all-leaguer Remington Riley was out with an injury.
Once the game tipped, in the spirit of Murphy’s Law, Storm leading scorer Kazz Parks left the game in the first quarter with a bone bruise after colliding knees while contesting a layup.
The Papermakers proceeded to hold Skyview to a season-low in a 40-24 win.
Skyview was, to put it plainly, a shell of itself.
After trying to come back in, Parks spent most of the game with her left leg elevated and an ice pack. Riley sat next to her in street clothes.
And Camas took control of a game it believed it should win under such circumstances. In the second quarter, Haley Hanson hit back-to-back floaters to push Camas’ lead to 18-11 and force a Skyview timeout.
With Skyview trying to find a replacement primary ball-handler, the Papermaker defense upped the pressure and held the Storm to six points or fewer in the remaining three quarters.
Skyview coach Brett Johnson called losing Parks on top of Riley a “whole different game plan.”
“Emotionally you hurt for (Parks) and hurt for their team, but as far as the game goes we knew what we had to do,” Thompson said. “We played very good defense.”
Hanson scored a game-high 17 points — the only player to score in double digits — and Booth hit two 3s on her way to eight points for the Papermakers.
For Booth, even playing felt like a pipe dream 24 hours earlier.
Last Thursday, she developed a pain in her shoulder she equated to heartburn. It hurt, but she practiced through it until it became insurmountable during Tuesday’s practice.
She left practice to see a doctor, and after going through tests, landed back in the emergency room the next day. She stayed in the hospital for two days.
“Honestly, I thought maybe I might be out for the rest of the season and I really wanted to go out with a bang,” Booth said. “But I got cleared this morning.”
She went to school Friday and felt fine, and a doctor cleared her to play Friday night.
“I really wanted to be back on the court,” Booth said. “Two days is too long. I was really excited. It was a great feeling.”
Parks’ injury was knee-to-knee contact, and Johnson expects her to return to the court soon. Riley’s timetable, however, is less certain as she tends to an injury which she initially planned to fix with surgery after the season.
The Storm won 13 of their first 14 games, and at full strength, have looked the part of a team competing for a league title.
Johnson is still trying to find out how to proceed without, potentially, his two leaders.
“We’ve just got to find somebody to step up, take over at point,” Johnson said. “We couldn’t run anything out there. If that’s going to be the case we’re going to be in trouble. But we’ll be OK.”
That’s, in part, why Friday’s match had a silver lining for Skyview: there is still plenty of the league schedule left to get healthy.
The Papermakers remain undefeated in 4A Greater St. Helens League play after handing the Storm their first league loss. But they know Friday was a circumstantial fluke (Skyview’s previous season low was 41), and hope to see the Storm at full strength when the teams face again on Jan. 28.
When the teams shook hands after the game, each Camas player walked to the end of the bench and gave Parks, who still had her leg elevated, fistbumps and hugs.
Hanson was devastated to see her competitor go down.
“It’s sad when good players get hurt,” Hanson said. “I’m excited for next time we play them just to have their full strength. I think it will be a good matchup and I’m excited to see what my team brings. We’re a young team and we’re really progressing every day, practice, every game.”
CAMAS 40, SKYVIEW 24
SKYVIEW — Michelle Winters 2, Alexis Perez 4, Maddie Henricks 7, Ava Harman 3, Tanariea Deloney 0, Skylar Groesbeck 0, Kazz Parks 3, Emily Norton 0, Makayla Anthony 5. Totals 8 (3) 5-7 24.
CAMAS — Jalena Carlisle 4, Regan Cooke 3, Haylie Johnson 0, Katelynn Forner 2, Haley Hanson 17, Hannah Booth 8, Katie Hancock 4, Faith Bergstrom 2, Kyra Seggewiss 0. Totals 16 (4) 4-5 40.
Skyview 9 4 5 6—24
Camas 9 9 12 10—40
