It could’ve been George Rogers Clark’s Jailenn Green shredding Campbell County’s defense or the Cardinals holding the Camels to just 11 first-half points.
It might have been shutting out all the Camels for nearly eight minutes over the first and second quarters.
Actually, it was all three. The three-time defending girls 10th Region champion Lady Cardinals rolled past the Camels, 68-34,in Friday’s semifinal at Campbell County Middle School.
The Lady Cardinals meet Bishop Brossart, a 58-45 winner over Bracken County, for the trophy at 7 p.m.
Green led GRC (24-7) with 22 points, including 15 in the first half.
If you wear Campbell County purple and gold, Camels vs. Cardinals has been ugly. GRC has won the last five meetings with a 32.5-point average victory margin.
“We couldn’t make shots,” Campbell County coach Davey Johnson said. “I’m not saying we would’ve won that game, but I’m saying that might have been the worst game we played all year as far as putting the ball in the basket. We got some really good looks, and we couldn’t get one to fall.”
Campbell County’s Addie Davis grabbed an opening-minute defensive rebound and found Izzy Jayasuriya, who traveled the rest of the way, drew a foul and hit a couple free throws. Jayasuriya’s field goal a couple minutes later and free throw gave Campbell County its last lead at 4-2.
Green averaged just 9.1 points a game going into Friday. She topped that a little more than two minutes into the second quarter on a fake and drive past Davis.
“We don’t have anybody that’s going to get 20 a night,” GRC coach Robbie Graham said. “Scoring’s always going to be equally distributed.”
Girls Region tournament scores/schedule
It was. Kennedy Stamper added 14 points and Teigh Yeast chipped in another eight.
It would’ve been worse for Campbell County (18-10) if not for Izzy Jayasuriya. She scored all 11 first-half points and 14 in a row – she led the Camels with 17 – and her two 3s pulled the Camels to within 19-10.
“Our shots weren’t falling in the first quarter, so I had to do what I had to do and try to get to the basket and score,” Jayasuriya said.
GRC (24-7) ended the suspense in the second stanza – an 11-1 run over the final 5:32 turned into a 30-11 halftime lead.
“We started the game off, we settled for a few jump shots,” Graham said. “We wanted to get downhill, really attack the basket, throw the ball in the paint, go on and win the paint.”
The Cardinals’ defensive goals were to hold Campbell County to fewer than five 3-pointers and limit the Camels to single-digit scoring in at least one quarter. It was a doubly accomplished mission: the Camels made only four 3s, and Campbell County’s 15 third-quarter points were the only double-digit stretch.
“What I’ll tell you is, I thought for the most part we did a fantastic job against the press,” Johnson said.
Even when things appeared to go wrong for the Cardinals, they turned out right. When Stamper flew over the baseline late in the second, she saved the ball to Green, who was conveniently under the basket for the layup.
Campbell County’s future looks bright. The Camels graduate just two seniors, Macie Peoples and Alicia Appel.
“Sixty of our 64 points a game, or whatever it is, is back,” Johnson said. “So we’ll be ready to go next year.”
CARDINALS 68, CAMELS 34
GEORGE ROGERS CLARK — 13-17-16-22 – 68
CAMPBELL COUNTY — 4-7-15-8 – 34
GRC (68) — Stamper 14, Chestnut 5, Yeast 8, Byars 6, Green 22, Howard 2, Jones 4, Stakelyn 3, Miller 2, Strode 2. 3-Pt. FG: 3 (Chestnut, Green, Stakelyn). FT: 9-13. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None.
Campbell Co. (34) — Barbian 4, Davis 7, Peoples 6, Jayausriya 17. 3-Pt. FG: 4 (Jayasuriya 3, Davis). FT: 10-16. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.
Records: George Rogers Clark 24-7, Campbell County 18-10