BLACKSVILLE, W.Va. — Through eight minutes of play, the Cameron Dragons found themselves staring at an 11-point deficit against a Clay-Battelle team that ended the opening quarter on a 7-0 run. Over the next three quarters, Cameron would allow just 12 points to defeat the Cee-Bees, 56-29.
The Dragons scored the final 18 points of the first half to build a 27-20 lead at intermission.
“Defensively, we started going after loose balls and we were eliminating second chance shots. We were just all together playing better defense. We were switching our picks a little bit better,” said Cameron head coach Holly Pettit. “Offensively, we were a little bit more patient and getting the ball in the right hands and we were just being patient with our shot selection.”
Cameron sophomore guard Kendra Thomas made five shots from the field in the first half and she led all scorers with 15 points.
“They came out in a triangle-and-two and we really haven’t seen that a whole lot this season. I think the girls adjusted well. We got some screens set for her. Some other girls hit some big shots. The momentum change really helped out.”
Clay-Battelle (8-6) opened the second half with back-to-back hoops from Diera Baez and Ali Hellyer to pull within three points [27-24]. The Dragons, however, ended the third quarter on an 8-1 run to take their first double-digit lead at 39-28. Cameron then scored the first 13 points in the final frame to put the game out of reach.
“In the first half, we just didn’t have the intensity that we normally do or the intensity going after loose basketballs. Blue collar basketball is what we needed to play. At halftime we talked about that. I think they came out well in the second half and executed.”
The Dragons (12-6), who claimed their sixth consecutive Ohio Valley Athletic Conference 1A championship two weeks ago, put a stop to a brief two-game losing streak.
“I think there is still a little better level to reach. We’ve kind of been under the weather the last couple weeks. In our OVAC games, we played four games that week and we kind of got down a little bit. In our games last week, we struggled a little bit.
“I think that we are going to peak at the right time and play our best basketball in the next couple weeks.”
Macey Bertram added 13 points for the Dragons. Hellyer led the Cee-Bees with 14 points.