CAMAS — The win wasn’t payback in the most direct sense, but a pretty satisfying feeling for the Camas girls basketball team nonetheless.
The Papermakers got the better of Eastlake, the same team they lost to in last season’s Class 4A state championship game, by pulling out a 58-46 win on their home court Friday.
Addison Harris scored 12 of her 17 points in the second half, Riley Sanz poured in 15 and Reagan Jamison added nine to power the Papermakers in a game they led or were tied for all but 13 seconds.
“We wanted that win more than anything,” Jamison said. “I think that we didn’t get too excited about it. We stayed level, kept it together and came up with a really solid win.”
It was the same brand of physical, gritty basketball that defined the teams’ last matchup at the 4A state tournament. Only this time, instead of Eastlake pushing around Camas, the Papermakers relished being the aggressors.
They won the rebounding battle 37-25, grabbed 12 steals and seemingly never backed down to the Wolves while getting tangled during a few chippy moments.
Oh, and don’t forget the team’s three blocked shots, all by Jamison, including an emphatic stuff of an Eastlake shot attempt as the final buzzer sounded.
“We were talking about it last game at state, they took it to us and they were the more aggressive team — stronger, went at us more and more dawgs,” Kendall Mairs said. “This game, that was our big thing. We were like, we’re going to take it to them first. Be the bully, almost.”
A back-and-forth first half opened up midway through the third quarter as Camas built its largest lead, 35-22, following a 3-pointer from Sophie Buzzard followed by a Sanz layup.
Eastlake continued to hang around into the fourth quarter, then cut the Camas lead to 45-42 on a 3-pointer from Sofia Aluas, who, along with Tatum Wood led Eastlake with 15 points.
But after that basket at the 3 minute, 45-second mark, Camas held Eastlake scoreless for two-and-a-half minutes while putting together a 6-0 run, which included and-one layups from Harris and Jamison. That lead was enough to carry Camas to the finish line.
“This game was super physical, super tough so I think it makes it even more fun,” Sanz said, “because the competition is so high and everybody is playing so hard. Our defense is so good, and then offense just translates from defense. It was working really well.”
Behind the scenes, Camas coach Scott Thompson said the team didn’t spend much time talking about Friday’s opponent. Moreso, the Papermakers viewed the game as a measuring stick against another highly-ranked 4A team.
In fact, they’ve already played several of those games through three weeks of the season, most recently at the She Got Game Classic in Washington D.C. last week, which undoubtedly helped bring them up to speed for Friday’s tilt.
“I don’t think we win this game without the D.C. trip. I truly believe that,” Thompson said. “The speed and the physicality we competed against. The refereeing was different. It felt like a college atmosphere. … We had to learn how to compete with that physicality and that speed. When we come back here, we know that was worth it to have those experiences. I thought the girls fought incredibly hard for this win. It was a gritty, tough win, and I have to think that some of those lessons we learned along the way in D.C. just paid off for us.”
Some of those components were missing late last season when the Papermakers fell to Eastlake in the state title game. Now they’re building on recent experiences most high school teams don’t have, all while working toward their unfinished business at state.
“It’s not a revenge tour, or whatever, because it’s a new season,” Sanz said. “It’s a new, fresh start. Tt’s not our get-back. In the back of our minds it’s a get-back, but overall … it’s just a really great start to our season after getting back from a lot of travel.
CAMAS 58, EASTLAKE 46
EASTLAKE (3-2) — Sofia Aluas 15, Darcy McCoy 4, Krista Kostoff 3, Brooke McCartney 6, Addi Baumgartner 0, Denise Gainer 0, Maggie Bredeweg 3, Tatum Wood 15. Totals 18 (5) 5-7 46.
CAMAS (5-2) — Reagan Jamison 9, Kendall Mairs 6, Riley Sanz 15, Sophie Buzzard 3, Parker Mairs 0, Brianna Forbess 4, Addison Harris 17, Keirra Thompson 4. Totals 21 (3) 13-18 58.
Eastlake 11 8 8 19—46
Camas 11 12 14 21—58
