TACOMA — So close.
For the youthful Camas girls basketball team, it was the state tournament game of all state tournament games.
Nineteen lead changes. Twelve ties. And to top it off — overtime.
The only thing was the end result that wasn’t in the Papermakers’ favor, a 66-57 overtime loss to Sumner in Thursday’s 4A state quarterfinal at the Tacoma Dome.
The loss sends Camas (17-9) into Friday’s 10:30 a.m. consolation game against Lake Stevens. A win Friday means Camas will play for its first state trophy in program history Saturday.
Sumner’s Jadey Parrott forced overtime at 57 by converting 1 of 2 free throws with 6.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and utilized the momentum for good to start the extra 4-minute session. The first score of overtime came at the 1:21 mark when Parrott hit two free throws gave Sumner a 59-57 lead. The Spartans went 7 of 8 at the line in the extra session.
By comparison, Camas went scoreless and 0 for 10 shooting in overtime.
“We couldn’t get the lid off in overtime,” head coach Scott Thompson said.
A lot of the postgame reaction for Camas centered around what-if. What if Reagan Jamison hadn’t fouled out with 2 minutes, 3 seconds left in regulation in a 55-54 game? Or Parker Mairs fouling out with 1:21 left in overtime in a one-possession game? Or if Camas hadn’t gone 0 for 10 from the floor in the extra 4-minute session?
Camas never doubted itself all game, including the overtime session against a senior-heavy Sumner team that beat Camas at bi-disticts three weeks ago.
“We’re winning this — that’s what all of us were thinking,” sophomore guard Ava Smith said.
Jamison, a sophomore, had a game-high 25 points, and also had nine rebounds and four steals. She also had 12 of her team’s 16 third-quarter points when it was a 45-all tie after three quarters, but fouled out with 2:03 left in regulation. At that point, Camas led 55-54.
Neither team had a more than a four-point advantage in the fourth quarter.
It was the second time in three weeks the two teams faced off. Sumner topped Camas, 68-54, in the 4A bi-district semifinals Feb. 12, but Thursday was a vastly different performance starting by slowing down Sumner’s Deaver sisters, Alyson and Catelyn.
They combined for 29 points, but by Camas clogging the interior allowed for Sumner to find its outside stroke. Kaylee Cooper added 17, including hitting 5 of 9 3s.
Despite the defeat, there’s still plenty of more basketball left for Camas this tournament starting Friday against Lake Stevens.
“We’re not done yet,” Smith said.
Thompson said a difference maker down the stretch Thursday was Sumner’s veteran lineup against a youthful Camas team that has two freshmen and three sophomores in its starting lineup. But what the coach said he hopes his players take away is perhaps a peek into their future.
“It gives our girls the chance to see that team pull that game out and say, ‘Look at our potential,” he said. “We’ve seen that Sumner team over the years and seen how much they’ve grown, and to think we can be eventual be those mature juniors and seniors on the court.
“We have a pretty special future.”
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SUMNER 66, CAMAS 57 (OT)
CAMAS — Reagan Jamison 25, Kendall Mairs 5, Parker Mairs 5, Anna Mooney 0, Sammi Guffey 0, Sophie Buzzard 0, Riley Sanz 9, Ava Smith 7, Keirra Thompson 6. Totals 19 (9) 10-15 57.
SUMNER — Kaylee Cooper 17, Adriana Perez 0, Kylie Griffin 0, Jadey Parrott 12, Catelyin Deaver 9, Lainee Houillon 8, Payton Martinson 0, Alison Deaver 20. Totals 21 (6) 18-28 66.
Camas 12 17 16 12 0 — 57
Sumner 11 17 17 12 9 — 66
