The third quarter could not have gone much better for the Campbell County Camels girls basketball team (9-16).
Tied at 27 on the road at halftime, Campbell County outscored the Beechwood Tigers, 22-2 on its way to a 62-42 non-region victory. The win snaps a three-game losing streak for the Camels.
“We had a tough loss at Grant County (63-62 on Friday) pretty much at the buzzer,” said Davey Johnson, Campbell County head coach. “I knew we would struggle a bit in the first half, coming out flat. That’s what we talked about in pre-game was having that energy and effort. At halftime, we made the adjustments. The five starters that I pulled early came out and did what they were supposed to do in the second half. We backed off the press and made them earn everything they got.”
The Camels put together every phase in that third quarter starting with defense forcing the Tigers to dribble with to their weaker sides. If they made it to the paint, Campbell County sophomore 6-foot-2-inch center Macie Peoples rejected the shot or made the Tigers put up tough shots before collecting the rebound. Then the Camels turned some opportunities into fast-break points.
Campbell County saw good inside-outside balance in this game. Freshman forward/guard Isabella Jayasuriya led the Camels with 14 points and Peoples finished with 11 to go with six rebounds and one blocked shot. Freshman forward/guard Faith Whitford followed with eight points and six rebounds as 11 different Camels scored. Campbell County is playing without injured senior forward Julia Busam and junior post Lilliann Enzweiler.
“My teammates passed me the ball and I finished,” Peoples said. “You have to drive through the contact and make it. It helps a lot when I do make a lay-up or something. It helps me believe I can keep doing it. If I make or miss them, I keep shooting.”
Eight different Camels scored as they made 39 percent from the field and 19-of-24 free throws. The Camels also won the rebounding battle, 39-24. Junior guard Allison Collins led Campbell County with seven rebounds.
Campbell County had 16 turnovers, five steals and nine assists to 18 turnovers, seven steals and three assists for Beechwood. Collins had three assists to lead the Camels.
“Once we got the ball inside to (Peoples or Jayasuriya), we started to use our size advantage,” Johnson said. “We started getting some better looks from the outside once we started working the inside.”
Junior Riley Boyd led the Tigers with 21 points making half her shots and all five free throws. She scored 12 in the first half. Beechwood hit 31 percent from the field including 42 percent from three-point range and 72 percent of its free throws.
Campbell County put a number of different players on Boyd. Collins, senior forward Keauna Cullum and senior guard Sophia Beck took their turns.
“We just made sure we were straight up and didn’t foul,” Beck said. “Boxing out is a major part of it. You have to keep your cool with easy putbacks. We’ve struggled some lately. But I think we can turn things around now. I think it will be good if we keep our defense up.”
Peoples hit two free throws and converted a transition bucket off a senior guard Kennedy Johnson steal to give the Camels the lead for good at 31-27 with 6:50 left in the third quarter. After Boyd made two free throws, Campbell County finished the quarter scoring 18 in a row forcing the Tigers to burn two timeouts to go up 49-29 entering the fourth quarter.
Late in the quarter with Campbell County up 59-31, the Camels put in reserves to finish the game. Beechwood closed the game with an 11-3 run.
Despite two straight losses, Beechwood has its most number of wins since the 2013-2014 season and is hoping to put together its first winning season since going 14-12 that year. The Tigers have won three or four in a row three times this year.
“It’s a long road and a long challenge. A couple years ago, Beechwood basketball was kind of in the cellar,” said Isaac Speicher, Beechwood head coach. “It wasn’t even thought of in the 9th Region. Three years from now, we want this to be looked at as a bad season. We want to keep climbing.”
Beechwood plays host to Cincinnati (Ohio) Christian on Monday at 6 p.m. Campbell County travels to Simon Kenton (13-11) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Girls Basketball
Simon Kenton 47, Spencer County 44
The Pioneers (13-11) took down the visiting Bears (19-5) for their second big win of the week.
Simon Kenton made 29 percent of its shots including 32 percent from three-point range and 67 percent from the free-throw line to go with 30 rebounds. Freshman Anna Kelch led the Pioneers with 16 points and eighth grade guard Brynli Pernell scored 14. Senior forward Emilee Eggleston snagged eight rebounds.
“It was good for us,” said Brenden Stowers, Simon Kenton head coach. “We jumped out on them early and they clawed all the way back. We were able to close it out. It was a physical battle. Neither team wanted to give an inch. I told our girls there was no quit in that team. They’re disciplined. They’re skilled. They know what they’re supposed to do. It was good for our girls to experience that, especially this late in the season.”
Simon Kenton plays host to Campbell County (9-16) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Other Girls Basketball Scores
Holy Cross 90, Walton-Verona 59
Cumberland County 49, Bellevue 32
Cumberland County 62, Dayton 21
Bellevue 67, Western Hills 54
Dayton 41, Fairview 17
Western Hills 41, Newport 39
Highlands 53, Boone County 30
Conner 50, Notre Dame 33
Newport Central Catholic 44, Roger Bacon (Ohio) 36
Boys Basketball Scores
Newport 73, Harlan County 58
Holy Cross 98, Walton-Verona 81
Bethlehem 85, Newport Central Catholic 77
Male 100, Covington Catholic 89
Whitefield Academy 59, Calvary Christian 48
Carroll County 59, Villa Madonna 56
Heritage Academy 93, Covington Latin 39
Iroquois 53, Boone County 51
Ludlow 84, St. Bernard-Elmwood Place (Ohio) 60
Bellevue 78, Robertson County 48
Dayton 61, Thomas Nelson 59