CAMAS — Toryi Midland recalls the feeling of walking off the court the first time the Union girls basketball team played Camas back in December.
The Papermakers mounted a come-from-behind win, and it left the Titans with a sour taste.
“That was an eye-opener, and we just made it a mindset that we’re not losing to them again,” Midland said.
Mackenzie Lewis scored a game-high 18 points and Midland delivered key plays late to lead Union past Camas 53-44 on Friday night, bringing the Titans in lock step with the Papermakers atop the 4A Greater St. Helens League standings at 4-1.
Added Midland: “We needed this tonight.”
And the fact that the win came in a packed gym on the road at Camas High School, Union’s top rival, and a team the Titans girls have not beat in more than four seasons?
That sure sweetened the victory.
The situation the second time around was similar, too. Union held a nine-point lead going into the fourth quarter, not far off its lead in the Dec. 17 matchup that Camas erased in a comeback win.
The difference, according to Union coach Gary Mills?
Defense.
“In the fourth quarter we got more stops than we did the first time,” Mills said. “It was a defensive thing. They slowly crept back in the game by getting layups and we made them work for everything they got.”
But that didn’t stop Mills from remembering how the first matchup shook out. When the the players walked onto the court to start the fourth quarter, he glanced up at the scoreboard and saw Union’s lead was one more than in the first matchup.
“I thought maybe that will make the difference,” he said.
Camas’ Emma Rehrer hits a 3 on first possession of the fourth quarter to cut Union’s lead to five. Two possessions later, Jalena Carlisle blocked a Toryi Midland foul line jumper, then hit a 3-pointer on the other end to pull the Papermakers within four, forcing a Union timeout with 6:05 left.
Lolo Weatherspoon hit a free throw with 3:45 left to push Union’s lead to four, then Midland had a momentous chase-down block on Katie Hancock with less than three minutes left. Two possessions later, Midland hit the game-sealing basket, a face-up transition jumper from just outside the low block.
Weatherspoon, a sophomore guard, finished with 12 points, but the sophomore guard drew praise from Mills for her defensive efforts in helping hold Camas’ Haley Hanson to eight points, well below her season average.
“I thought Lolo was great tonight,” Mills said, “in that environment …I thought she played like a senior tonight.”
Weatherspoon, Kaip and Lewis have stepped up to take over the ball-handling responsibilities left vacant by returning all-league selection Mason Oberg, who has missed the season after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament over the summer.
The critical juncture set Union back before the season even started. But a win like Friday night showed the Titans just how well the other guards — or as Mills said, “a bunch of wings playing point guard” — have stepped up.
“Everyone was kind of like, ‘well this is going to be different,’ but having all the guards step up has really helped,” Midland said.
Midland’s late playmaking came after re-entering the game in the fourth quarter with four fouls. To fully lock in, she said, she had to forget about her early foul trouble and just play.
Entering the fourth quarter Camas felt like it was still within reach. But it was a night where its couldn’t find a rhythm on offense.
“We didn’t have a girl step up and make their shots tonight, but we did have a lot of girls step up from an energy and effort standpoint,” Camas coach Scott Thompson said. “We just couldn’t get the shots to fall.”
CAMAS 53, UNION 44
UNION — Alexis Raymore 2, McKenna Vega 0, Marina Morningstar 3, Toryi Midland 8, Lolo Weatherspoon 12, Abbey Kaip 5, Mackenzie Lewis 18, Lily Caplice 0, Kaneyl Carpenter 5. 18 (5) 12-18 53.
CAMAS — Jalena Carlisle 8, Regan Cooke 5, Haylie Johnson 0, Katelynn Forner 1, Haley Hanson 8, Hannah Booth 7, Katie Hancock 4, Faith Bergstrom 6, Kyra Seggewiss 2. 15 (5) 9-17 44.
Union 14 14 14 11 — 53
Camas 8 13 12 11 — 44
