CAMAS — Cassidy Gardner seemed a bit hesitant to talk about herself, her game Wednesday night.
“I want to get my teammates open for their shots,” said the sophomore guard for the Prairie girls basketball team.
A great attitude, for sure.
However, when the team is in danger of losing, gotta get the ball to the hot hand.
Gardner’s teammates realized what was happening with Gardner, so the Falcons kept giving her the ball.
Gardner had 16 of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Falcons rally past Camas 62-54 in a non-league game. She made four 3-pointer in the quarter, including one to give her team the lead for good and another to beat the shot clock.
Gardner recalled losing to Camas last season.
“It felt good to come back here, to know I helped the team this year,” she said.
And then some.
Her 3-pointer to open the quarter brought the Falcons to within one point. Her basket tied the game a minute later. Then there was a 3-pointer to take the lead on a vintage Prairie play.
Senior Grace Prom drove the baseline, drawing the defense closer, then spotting Jozie Tangeman in the corner. Tangeman, who had it going in the first half, opted for one more pass to an even more open teammate. Gardner was true.
Of course, none of this would have happened for Prairie without another staple of the program. Prairie held Camas to eight points in the final quarter.
“Our defense, once we picked that up, that really helped,” Gardner said. “It got our momentum back up. We excelled from there.”
This was Prairie’s first game, meaning new coach Hala Corral is 1-0.
“To see the kids come back and fight and believe in the system, believe in everything we’ve been doing the past three-and-a-half weeks, was very special,” Corral said. “They believed they were going to win.
“They willed themselves to win.”
Gardner’s 3-pointer to beat the shot clock gave Prairie a 58-54 lead in the final minute. Allison Corral made two free throws with 17 seconds left to make it a six-point game. Gardner got the game’s final points at the line, as well.
Tangeman scored all 16 of her points in the first half, going 6-for-6 from the floor, including three 3-pointers. Brooke Walling added 11 points for Prairie.
Haley Hanson led Camas with 16 points. She made four 3-pointers. Courtney Clemmer added 11 points.
The Papermakers took the lead with a 23-point second quarter with a balanced attack. Teague Schroeder hit back-to-back 3-pointers to get things rolling. Hanson had eight of her points in the third quarter, keeping Camas in front of the Falcons.
Eight minutes later, Gardner had gone from five points to 21, and the Falcons had their victory.
PRAIRIE 62, CAMAS 54
PRAIRIE — Allison Corral 2, Jozie Tangeman 16, Mallory Williams 4, Grace Prom 6, Malaika Quigley 0, Haley Reed 2, Cassidy Gardner 21, Brooke Walling 11. Totals 24-42 (8-15) 6-7 62.
CAMAS — Jordyn Wilds 2, Meghan Finley 5, Jillian Webb 5, Teague Schroeder 6, Haley Hanson 16, Maggie Wells 0, Emma Jones 6, Madison Freemon 3, Courntey Clemmer 11. Totals 19-49 (7-19) 9-13 54.
Prairie 20 12 10 20–62
Camas 11 23 12 8–54
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