Campbell County anticipated an early three-minute George Rogers Clark scoring storm Saturday.
What the Cardinals delivered was much stronger – a 74-41 win and fifth straight girls 10th Region title at Harrison County.
GRC (29-2) won its 19th region title in program history and will face 13th Region champion North Laurel in the opening round of the Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Girls Sweet 16® at 8:30 p.m. Thursday at Rupp Arena in Lexington.
“We have to weather the storm the first three minutes,” Camels coach Davey Johnson said before the game.
The Camels mostly did – Madeleine Barbian’s 3 kept her team close at 4-3.
“We handled the ball, first few minutes, pretty well,” Campbell County senior Izzy Jayasuriya said. “We just didn’t hit the shots that we needed to hit.”
And the next five minutes? Not so much – Kyleigh Chestnut’s six points, Annette Miller’s bucket and Teigh Yeast’s steal and score led a 10-2 run on the way to a 22-10 lead after eight minutes.
GRC’s player-to-player defense stymied Campbell County’s interior offense the rest of the night. After the Camels’ Josie Feebeck knocked down a 3 a little less than 90 seconds into the second stanza, the Cardinals finished with a 9-2 explosion and 35-17 halftime lead.
PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Will Jones
Elijah Strode led GRC (29-2) with 18 points, Kyleigh Chestnut was next with 15, and Kennedy Stamper had 10.
Yeast scored 14 points, but you noticed the job she did against Jayasuriya, who led the Camels with 14 points, on defense.
“You know, she’s a terrific player, been a great player in Campbell County for several years now,” GRC coach Robbie Graham said. “We wanted to keep her around her average.”
Yeast said her defense was more important than scoring.
“I knew that she would (shoot) it from anywhere, so I knew I was going to have to stay up in her –being aggressive on the defensive end,” Yeast said.
With Campbell County (23-7) getting mostly nothing inside, the Camels became one-dimensional, having to rely on 3s. It was a plan that didn’t work – in the last 90 seconds, Faith Whitford, Barbian and Jayasuriya each missed one.
Campbell County opened the third quarter with a 5-0 mini-run on Jayasuriya’s field goal and Whitford’s 3 from the right corner, which closed GRC’s lead to 35-22.
Then, perhaps the defensive play of the game.
The one thing Johnson feared was dribbling to the sideline, and two minutes into the third quarter it’s what happened.
Stamper forced Campbell County’s Addie Davis to the sideline, and when she tried to find some help near the top of the key, Yeast stole the pass and hit the layup.
A few minutes after GRC fans quit yelling “Rupp Arena, Rupp Rupp Arena,” Johnson reminisced about the season. Four seniors – Jayasuriya, Barbian, Whitford and Brenna Schultz – finished their high school careers.
“Fantastic season, man, it’s been so much fun,” Johnson said. “The four seniors were awesome; I’ve had them since their freshman year. They’re going to be extremely missed. We’ve got depth; they’ll be ready next year, and we’ll see how it goes.”
CARDINALS 74, CAMELS 41
CAMPBELL CO. 10 7 15 9 – 41
GR CLARK 22 13 17 22 – 74
Campbell Co. (41) — Barbian 5, Davis 3,, Augsback 2, Whitford 8, Bittyner 6, Jayasuriya 14, Feebeck 3. 3-Pt. FG: 6(Jayasuriya 2, Whitford 2, Barbian, Feebeck). FT: 7-11. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: None.
GR Clark (74) — Stamper 10, K. Chestnut 15, Fugate 3, Kennedy 2, Edmondson 4, Yeast 14, Stakelin 2, Strode 18, A. Chestnut 4, Miller 2. 3-Pt. FG: 5 (K. Chestnut 4, Stamper). FT: 10-14. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None.
Records: Campbell County 23-7, George Rogers Clark 29-2.