Izzy Jayasuriya was asked how frequently she’s hit a game-winning basket.
“Not very often,” Campbell County’s junior guard/forward said Saturday.
The Camels were glad she did. Her 5-footer with two seconds left gave her team a 43-41 win over Bishop Brossart in the Crosstown Basketball Classic at Campbell County Middle School.
Campbell County coach Davey Johnson said Jayasuriya continues to surprise him.
“Izzy is one of those players where, when she’s in the game, it’s just kind of give her the ball,” Johnson said. “And sometimes, especially in a game like this, it’s kind of give her the ball and get out of the way and kind let her do what she does and create for others.”
Johnson said the original plan was to inbound to Jayasuriya, who could either take the shot or pass to Madeleine Barbian for a corner 3.
“Izzy went a little early … fumbled the ball,” Johnson said. “We got lucky, it wound up in her hands, and got it off the rebound and stuck it back in at the buzzer.”
A bad bounce off Brossart’s Kylie Smith under Campbell County’s basket started the sequence.
“If it hits the other side of the board, if it comes out of bounds and just lands, it’s our ball,” Brossart coach Steve Brown said. “But it catches her.”
Jayasuriya’s basket – the last of her team-high 17 points – also wiped out Brossart’s 11-point lead.
“I think we kind of, honestly, fatigued a little bit,” Brown said. “We’re not as big or as deep. We were without Ava Walters. On the offensive end, trying to slow our pace down a little bit. But in all honesty, (Campbell County) just made a couple more plays.”
Johnson called the first 31 minutes and 58 seconds “ugly.”
“Very ugly,” Johnson said. “We average 65 a game. We had to fight and claw – everything we could possibly do to just get to 40.”
Campbell County (8-3, 1-0 in the 37th District) started with a 3-2 zone at the top of the key and a 2-3 on the wings. Neither worked – Smith’s five points (she led all scorers with 22) and Zoee Meyers’ triple put Brossart up, 8-0.
“For a freshman, (Smith) does a lot for us,” Brown said.
It took Campbell County nearly three minutes to score. Jayasuriya scored the Camels’ first five points.
One of Brossart’s (8-4, 0-1) problems was free throws – the Lady ‘Stangs made just 9-of-19 (47.3%) for the night and missed all four in the first quarter. Smith made up for it – her nine points gave her team a 17-9 lead after one quarter.
Campbell County was just as icy early in the second stanza – after Josie Feebeck scored less than a minute in, the Camels didn’t score again for nearly three minutes until Amerie Mullins’ bucket.
Brossart, however, was even more frigid from the field – just one field goal over the final 5:07 and only one point after Greylee Kramer’s two free throws with 3:36 before intermission.
By the fourth quarter, the Camels had caught up. Jayasuriya’s bucket with 7:36 left capped a 12-5 run for a 31-31 tie.
And Brossart? Nearly four minutes without a point; Smith scored seven of her team’s final 10. (Her free throw with 1:11 left was the Lady ‘Stangs’ last scoring.) Jayasuriya also tied the game at 41-all with a clockwise spin and score with 18 seconds left.
After Jayasuriya’s final bucket, Smith and Brown unsuccessfully tried to call time out.
“She was right there,” Brown said. “But in that situation, you’re not always gonna get that.”
Campbell County’s 43 points and Brossart’s 41 were the fewest either team has scored this season. Jayasuriya wasn’t surprised.
“The Crosstown (Classic) is always a low-scoring game because it’s so competitive,” she said.
CAMELS 43, LADY ‘STANGS 41
BISHOP BROSSART 17 7 7 10 – 41
CAMPBELL COUNTY 8 11 10 14 – 43
Bishop Brossart (41) — Eviston 2, Woosley 3, Smith 22, Z. Meyers 5, Shewmaker 4, Kramer 5. 3-Pt. FG: 2 (Z. Meyers, Smith). FT: 9-19. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: None .
Campbell County (43) — Barbian 6, Mullins 7, Davis 5, Peoples 2, Whitford 2, Brockman 2, Jayasuriya 17, Feebeck 2. 3-Pt. FG: 3 (Barbian, Jayasuriya, Mullins). FT: 12-17. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: None. Records: Bishop Brossart 8-4 (0-1 in the 37th District), Campbell County 8-3 (1-0).