It was the shot folks may remember for years.
First, the basics: Campbell County captured its first girls 37th District title in four years Thursday with a 47-37 win over Scott at Campbell County Middle School, the Camels’ Izzy Jayasuriya led all scorers with 21 points, and Ariana Patterson paced the Eagles with 11.
But the play folks will likely recall was Jayasuriya’s 3-pointer from the purple-and-gold Camels logo at the halftime buzzer.
Understandably, the reactions varied.
Start with Jayasuriya’s mom, Sarah Jayasuriya. All the Campbell County and Scott fans stayed in the stands – except one about five rows up and opposite the Scott bench.
“I thought I was in trouble,” Sarah Jayasuriya said. “I thought I was going to get a citation.”
After a layup from Scott’s Kaia Peterson with three seconds before intermission, Jayasuriya said Macie Peoples inbounded the ball to her, followed by two dribbles, two big steps and the shot.
“I screamed at her ‘Take it out and go’,” Jayasuriya said. “ … It was going straight; I knew it was going to go in.”
Campbell County coach Davey Johnson said Jayasuriya practices half-court shots, but he was perhaps the only person in the gym who didn’t see what Jayasuriya did.
“I was so mad we gave up that layup because it was our first mental breakdown of the entire half,” Johnson said. “… My head was down, mad about that, and then all of a sudden I hear the crowd erupt. I’m not joking – I did not even see it go in.”
And finally, Scott coach Eric Pouncy Jr.
“Guarding Izzy is very tough to do,” he said. “… It’s kind of like icing on the cake for the first half.”
And no, Jayasuriya did not see her mom on the court.
“She can get crazy at my games sometimes,” she said.
The halftime result: Campbell County 21, Scott 12.
Thursday’s first quarter had lots of shots and precious few makes.
Scott’s Kaia Peterson’s bucket was the Eagles last in the period, while the Camels’ Madeleine Barbian’s 3 with two seconds left ended over five minutes of no scoring.
After Peterson’s two free throws gave Scott (17-13) its last lead at 8-7 some 15 seconds into the second stanza, Stella Brockman’s bucket began a 15-6 run the rest of the period.
Patterson’s bucket and Kourtney Peterson’s up-and-under 8-footer two minutes into the third quarter cut Campbell County’s lead to 21-16. The problem for the Eagles was, after Nakiah Mejia’s bucket about 30 seconds later, the Camels went on an 8-0 run.
Peoples scored only seven points, but her defense was stout – her three blocks for the game included rejecting Kaia and Kourtney Peterson in the fourth quarter.
“My role was, be on defense talking,” Peoples said. “Making sure that I’m telling the guards where to be when they set screens ‘cause that’s what (Scott’s) offense is.”
“Hats off to Campbell,” Pouncy said. “Campbell’s a very good team, but you’ve got to make shots to win games.”
Campbell County (20-10) thus won its 11th title in the 37th District (The others: 2008-09, 2011-13, 2015-18, 2020) and 13th altogether. (The Camels won the 38th District in 2003 and 2004.)
Both teams advance to the 10th Region tournament beginning Monday at Bourbon County High School in Paris.
CAMELS 47, EAGLES 37
SCOTT 6 6 12 13 – 37
CAMPBELL CO. 7 14 13 13 – 47
Scott (37) — Price 5, Patterson 11, Mejia 4, Kaia Peterson 9, Kourtney Peterson 8. 3-Pt. FG: 1 (Patterson). FT: 10-11. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: None .
Campbell County (47) — Barbian 8, Peoples 7, Collins 4. Brockman 6, Whitford 1, Jayasuriya 21. 3-Pt. FG: 6 (Jayasuriya 4, Barbian 2). FT: 20-25. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: None. Records: Scott 17-13, Campbell County 20-10.
Officials: Brian Adair, Chris Kay and Andre Williams.
All-tournament team
Scott – Noelle Price and Arianna Patterson. Campbell County: Macie Peoples and Allison Collins. Most Valuable Player: Izzy Jayasuriya, Campbell County.