As the Camas High School girls basketball team fights to even the score with Skyview tonight, Sierra Brown points to her beating heart and says, “It all needs to start in here.”
Pulses were racing as Brown and her teammates delivered pink roses to the breast cancer survivors standing in the crowd on Hoops for Pink night. The Papermakers then stepped on the court and scored baskets for those brave warriors.
“See this white line. Once we step across it, give 100 percent,” Brown said to seniors McKenna Jackson, Paige Jackson, Kathryn Johnson, Kimi Knight, Lauren Neff and Kyla Sumpter. “This is the last year we get to be together, so why not give it our all.”
The Camas girls defeated Battle Ground 55-26 Friday, at CHS. The Papermakers held the Tigers to 13 points in each half. It started with a 7-0 run by Camas to start the game. Rachel Rice nailed two 3-pointers to make it 12-3. She finished with 12 points in the game.
Nikki Corbett collected 13 points, four rebounds and three blocked shots. Brenna Khaw weathered flu-like symptoms and dished out seven assists, scored four points and grabbed four rebounds.
“We’ve had a dip in our season, but tonight we came back with a lot of fire,” Brown said. “I hope that little jolt leads to more success, especially against Skyview and Union because we lost to them the first time.
The Camas girls basketball teams have raised approximately $3,149 so far. All of the money donated will be given to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
The Papermakers had a little something more to play for Friday. Christina Bonazelli, mother of teammate Rachael Bonazelli, passed away from breast cancer on Jan. 7.
Brown said Bonazelli had been an inspiration for these Hoops for Pink events the past four years.
“It’s nice to be able to celebrate the life of such a sweet person,” Brown said. “Christina gave so much of her time to this program. No matter how sick she was, she was always at Rachael’s games and giving us support. We miss her so much.”
Rachael Bonazelli, a junior, sat out this season to spend more time with her mother and family. On Friday, she was back on the bench with the Papermakers as an honorary teammate.
“It was amazing to see how many people turned out and how supportive everybody was. My mom would have definitely loved to see this game,” Bonazelli said. “I love these girls so much. It’s amazing how much we feel like a family on and off the court.”
Battle Ground beat the Camas boys basketball team 48-39 in Friday’s opener. Trent Johnson, Zach Eagle, Jordan Lenard, Trevor Jasinsky and Kyle Robb gave an inspiring effort, but the Papermakers couldn’t get over the hump.
Both Camas teams defeated Heritage at home on Jan. 15. The Papermaker girls got the party started with a 41-24 victory. Brown led the attack with 18 points, five rebounds and four steals. Neff added eight points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots.
The Camas boys jumped on Heritage 18-4 in the first quarter and never looked back, winning the game 79-43. Eleven different Papermakers put points on the board. Robb delivered 16, Lenard added 15 and Johnson netted 10. Camas outscored Heritage 20-11 in the third quarter and 24-9 in the fourth quarter.
The Papermaker girls and boys host Skyview tonight. The girls tip off first at 5:30 p.m., followed by the boys at 7 p.m.
