Davey Johnson’s pregame words were simple as an uncontested layup.
“We’ve got to take care of the ball and rebound,” Campbell County’s girls basketball coach said before Saturday’s 10thRegion final against George Rogers Clark.
GRC prevented the Camels from doing either.
The Cardinals overwhelmingly won their third straight championship (and 17th in program history) with a running-clock 73-36 victory at Bourbon County High School.
GRC thus meets Seventh Region champion Sacred Heart, a 78-50 winner over DuPont Manual, in the opening round of the Mingua Beef Jerky Sweet 16® at 6 p.m. Thursday at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
Yes, Campbell County finished at 22-11 – its best record since 2019-20’s 22-12 – but look at how far the Camels came hopefully softens the hurt: last year’s team was 10-22, and the two squads before that were a combined 18-36.
Seniors Allie Collins and Samantha Hull completed their high school careers. Collins led the Camels with 14 points, and she, Stella Brockman and Izzy Jayasuriya made the all-tournament team.
“I’ll just remember this amazing team that got us here,” Collins said. “We really did turn it around this year.”
Saturday was also Campbell County’s first trip to the finals since 2020, and the Camels sought their third title; the others were in 2016 and 2003.
It took about a minute for GRC (30-4) to begin the runaway.
The Cardinals solved Campbell County’s triangle-and-2 zone early and often. Teigh Yeast knocked down a 3 just 26 seconds into the game (she led everyone with 23 points), which Anaya Chestnut followed with a bucket about 34 ticks later.
Collins cut GRC’s lead to 8-4 with two free throws and a layup. The first problem for the Camels was, no scoring for more than two minutes.
“We weathered the storm,” Johnson said. “We did go with that first wave that we knew was coming … Then the second, third, fourth, fifth wave came.”
GRC’s 2-2-1 and 2-1-2 full-court traps bewildered Campbell County all night. While the Cardinals rolled to a 22-9 lead after one quarter and 39-13 halftime blowout, the Camels did not score for nearly nine minutes over the first and second quarters.
“We really want to press the ball,” GRC coach Robbie Graham said. “We’re really active on the … second level in the back end. When that ball’s in the air, we’re like a shark with blood in the water – we want to attack.”
And attack the Cardinals did. They sent the game to the running clock with 2:21 to go in the third quarter.
“It’s George Rogers Clark, right?” Johnson said. “They’re different; you can’t simulate it, no matter how much you try in practice.”
Collins offered one last bit of perspective – she qualified for the state golf tournament out of Region 8 and made the second round.
“Getting pretty far in both sports this year has been pretty cool,” Collins said. “It’s been a fun year.”
CARDINALS 73, CAMELS 36
CAMPBELL CO. 9 4 11 12 – 36
GR CLARK 22 17 22 12 – 73
Campbell County (36) — Davis 2, Peoples 3, Collins 14, Brockman 6, Jayasuriya 6, Elam 1, Weinel 2, Augsback 1, Hull 2. 3-Pt. FG: 3 (Jayasuriya 2, Collins). FT: 14-18. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: None.
George Rogers Clark (73) — Stamper 8, K. Chestnut 3, Yeast 23, Green 6, Jones 5, Goodwin 2, Tabor 7, A. Chestnut 5, Miller 10, Cecil 2, Balser 2. 3-Pt. FG: 8 (Yeast 3, Stamper 2, K. Chestnut, A. Chestnut, Miller). FT: 7-11. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: None.
Records: Campbell County 22-11, George Rogers Clark 30-4.