There was 2:19 left in the second quarter.
Pendleton County’s Hannah Spaulding’s two free throws had just given the Wildcats a 16-15 lead over Campbell County in Friday’s Girls 10th Region semifinal at Bourbon County.
Then – the 8-0 run that gave the Camels a 23-18 lead at the break, the crucial stretch in Campbell County’s 41-30 win – and a date with two-time defending champion George Rogers Clark, a 92-33 running-clock semifinal winner over Mason County, for the title at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Campbell County coach Davey Johnson and Pendleton County’s Patrick Kelsch agreed that was the difference in the game.
“I just brought that up to them in the locker room after the game,” Johnson said. “If we don’t make that big run at the end of the first half, things could be completely different right now. We were waiting to get hot, make some shots, and we did in about a minute, but that was about it for the game.”
The Camels’ plan in the fateful 2:19? Give the ball to sophomore Madeleine Barbian in the right corner – a wise decision because her team-high 12 points came on four 3-pointers from the right corner and two late in the half.
The right corner from distance was not always Barbian’s favorite spot.
“I kind of find myself there a lot, so I guess I started practicing it more,” Barbian said. “It starts falling more, so I go there even more and more.”
Campbell County forced a Pendleton County turnover moments before Barbian opened the run with a triple with 1:19 left. Izzy Jayasuriya followed with a bucket with 54 seconds to go, and Barbian’s long, far one finished the scoring with four ticks remaining.
What almost went unnoticed was Camel forward Stella Brockman’s 10 points off the bench. It proved someone other than Jayasuriya, who averaged 13.7 points a game going into Friday, could provide some scoring.
Campbell County (22-10) didn’t plan any new strategy against the Wildcats. What the Camels did in a 63-33 win Feb. 6 in Claryville worked well – a panoply of defenses, including a 1-2-2 full-court press, and the “run and jump,” a player-to-player scheme in which the defense traps a ball-handler as soon as she turns her head and everybody rotates.
Pendleton County was in the region semifinals for only the fifth time in school history. The Wildcats stayed close most of the night because their 3-2 zone befuddled Campbell County.
“We played them man-to-man early in the season when we played them,” Kelsch said. “I knew they hadn’t seen our zone. I was real happy with the energy we had out of it.”
Johnson was “shocked” more teams didn’t go zone.
“We shoot the ball well, but we’ve had a rough year this year shooting the three,” Johnson said.
Lilly Ashcraft’s 13 points led Pendleton County. Her four points, on a layup in which she breezed past two Camels, and a steal and score capped a 5-0 mini-run for an 11-11 tie.
Ashcraft’s three a little more than two minutes later pulled the Wildcats to within 24-19 – which was where a triple-trend developed: Barbian from the right corner and Jayasuriya from the right wing on Addie Davis’ assist.
The result: Campbell County, 30-19, with 4:54 to go in the third quarter.
Pendleton County did not go away. The Wildcats closed to 30-26 with eight minutes to play on a 7-0 run to end the period, and Hannah Spaulding’s two free throws made it 30-28 less than a minute later.
Brockman’s five points led an 11-5 run the rest of the way.
“I thought we did a good job in the second half of stayin’ around, hangin’ in there,” Kelsch said. “We turned the ball over too many times there late, and we also missed a few shots, missed some free throws, things like that.”
GRC leads the overall series, 10-6 since 2005, including the last three games.
For Campbell County to pull off the upset, containing GRC’s Kennedy Stamper, Anaya Chestnut, and Teigh Yeast. They scored 19, 13 and 12 points, respectively against Mason County, and Jailenn Green added 10.
“We’ve got a shot at it (Saturday),” Johnson said. “Obviously we know it’s an uphill battle, but I think the girls are ready to climb a little bit and try to have some fun and see what happens.”
CAMELS 41, WILDCATS 30
CAMPBELL CO. 11 12 7 11 – 41
PENDLETON CO. 6 10 10 4 – 30
Campbell County (41) — Barbian 12, Davis 2, Peoples 3, Collins 1, Brockman 10, Whitford 5, Jayasuriya 7, Feeback 1. 3-Pt. FG: 6 (Baarbian 4, Whitford, Jayasuriya). FT: 7-12. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None.
Pendleton County (30) — Verst 3, Ashcraft 13, Mayer 2, S. Thacker 3, Spaulding 9. 3-Pt. FG: 1 (Ashcraft). FT: 9-15. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: None.
Records: Campbell County 22-10, Pendleton County 12-21.