The Camas girls basketball team, like so many teams this season, has been in such a rush to get ready for the season that there hasn’t been a lot of time for the Papermakers to get to know each other.
And when you’ve added five freshmen to the roster, that can be a problem.
But to watch the Papermakers play, you might think they’ve been together for years.
“It’s all the work they put in off the court,” senior Katelynn Forner said of her teammates. “This team is the hardest working team I’ve ever played with. I know these girls put hours in. I even said ‘Coach, we need to find something else to do to team bond because we can’t just do basketball.’ We do it for hours.”
That work has paid off as the Camas girls are off to a 3-0 start after a 59-39 win over Skyview on Thursday night.
All 12 players on the roster got into the game for Camas — 11 in the first 10 minutes — and 10 scored, led by freshman Addison Harris, who had 11 points.
But several of her baskets came on assists from senior Faith Bergstrom after the Skyview defense collapsed on the Cal Poly-bound post.
“We’ve seen so much development from her game,” Camas coach Scott Thompson said of Bergstrom. “She’s really become a good strong leader on this team. And her leadership has taken on a different look this year because of the mentoring and the teaching. And she’s such a willing sharer. … Last year, Faith was around 20 every night, but we didn’t get a lot of scoring and help around her. We had some girls who could step up from time to time. But this year, every night everyone is contributing.”
That was evident in the second quarter Thursday when five different players scored in an 11-0 run that helped Camas take a 28-12 lead into halftime.
Skyview would make its own 12-0 run in the third quarter to get within 33-24. But the Papermakers responded with a 14-2 run to seize control early in the fourth, 47-28.
With so many new players in the roster and Thompson rotating so many players onto the floor, Camas is depending on senior leadership from players like Forner, Bergstrom and Jelena Carlisle to lead the way.
“You have to have those seniors and juniors who have been here (leading), because it’s a tightly packed season and you can’t learn everything step by step,” Forner said. “It’s thrown at you. Just talking to each other and connecting, I mean we connect so well off the court that those freshmen are family.”
Sophomore Anna Mooney had nine points, and Forner scored eight for Camas. Bergstrom and junior Ashley Bauer added six each.
But much of Camas’ success on offense was sparked by their defense, as the Papermakers forced several shot-clock violations from the Storm.
“That’s a big deal for us,” Forner said. “Those and (taking) charges. It’s so cool. You just give it all you’ve got in those seconds, and then you’ve got to flip the switch to offense, steady and calm down. But we’re always jacked up on defense.”
And having depth supplied by freshmen like Harris, Reagan Jamison, Parker Mairs, Riley Sanz and Ava Smith allow the Papermakers to go all out.
“We trust these girls,” Thompson said. “We didn’t put these freshmen on the varsity to sit them on the bench. We want them out on the court.”
Forner added: “These girls are dedicated to the sport, and I can’t wait to see what they do in the future. They are going to be big.”
CAMAS 59, SKYVIEW 39
CAMAS — Reagan Jamison 3, Jalena Carlisle 3, Parker Mairs 3, Katelynn Forner 8, Riley Sanz 0, Anna Mooney 9, Sammi Guffey 5, Faith Bergstrom 6, Ava Smith 5, Callie Ulin 0, Ashley Bauer 6, Addison Harris 11. Totals 22 (7) 8-12 59.
SKYVIEW — Brooke Riley 4, Samantha Groesbeck 4, Maddie Hendricks 6, Rowyn Riley 6, Avery Wilson 5, Skylar Groesbeck 8, Kiki Parks 4, Alyssa Perez 0, Jordan Hallet 2. Totals 13 (2) 11-15 39.
