Camas guards Meghan Finley (right) and Haley Hanson defend Skyview's Sydney Friauf Tuesday. The Papermakers defeated the Storm 48-43 in their first league game of the season.
(Dan Trujillo/Post-Record)The Camas girls grew up in these 32 minutes of basketball against Skyview Tuesday.
Clutch 3-pointers, free throws and defense helped the Papermakers beat the reigning league champions for the last six years, 48-43.
“They made a big run on us, but we were still in the lead,” said CHS senior guard Meghan Finley. “Right there, I thought, ‘We have to be patient. Don’t force any shots. We have the lead. They’re the ones that have to catch up. So, we just need to find composure and take the right shots.'”
Camas led by 13 points in the fourth quarter, but Skyview rallied to within three in the final minutes of the game.
Finley and Haley Hanson scored key baskets at the foul line to give the Papermakers some breathing room.
“When I was at the free throw line, I was thinking about a game when I missed my free throws,” Finley said. “I was upset because it was a close game.
“This time I was thinking, ‘I’m not going to let that happen. I need to make these. It was crunch time.'”
Finley sank the first free throw to make it a two-possession game. She missed the second one, but Hanson grabbed the offensive rebound and drew the foul for more free throws.
“Knock it in, and we’ll just go and press them, get the ball back, run the clock out and beat them,” Hanson said.
Hanson finished the game with 13 points on four threes. Her buzzer beater from behind the arc put the Papermakers up by three at halftime.
“We needed to get some momentum going,” she said. “It was a good feeling getting those shots off great passes.”
Teague Schroeder picked up where Hanson left off. She netted three 3-pointers in the third quarter on the way to 12 points.
“When the momentum starts picking up, we grab the energy and keep building off of that,” Schroeder said. “We played every aspect, every little thing. Everyone did their jobs. We defintiely played as a team, and that’s what wins games.”
Head coach Scott Preuninger said Maggie Wells gave Camas a boost off the bench by getting to loose balls for rebounds. She also made a couple foul shots.
Emma Jones collected six points and four steals. Finley chipped in five points and six assists.
“Everybody stepped up to make plays,” Preuninger said. “That says a lot about this team. They’re there to pick each other up. It was a good team win.”
And just what the Papermakers needed after going 3-6 during a grueling preseason.
“This schedule was put together to get us ready for this game,” Preuninger said. “Even though we took our lumps, we’re better prepared because we have faced tough teams the whole month of December.”
Camas has a challenging week ahead. After hosting Heritage Friday and W.F. West Saturday, the Papermakers go to Union Monday.
“This is only the start,” Schroeder said. “We can only get better from here.”
“Share the ball, play together and make the right choices so we can put ourselves in position to win,” Finley said.
