Lady Dragons knockoff 6A Columbia Battle, 46-39
The Cameron High School Lady Dragons will go into the Christmas break with a 9-1 record following last Friday’s come-from-behind victory over Columbia Battle.
The Lady Dragons had their hands full early with the 6A Lady Spartans before junior forward Avery McVicker caught fire in the third quarter and rallied her team to a 46-39 victory.
“We got fired up in the locker room (at halftime). We were ready to get the win and send them home,” said McVicker, whose 12 points last Friday were second to junior guard Laini Joseph’s team-leading 17 points.
Despite struggling early in the first quarter, the Lady Dragons found their footing by working inside the paint with McVicker, sophomore forward Claire Wenck and junior center Olivia Moore picking up close-range buckets to eventually give the Lady Dragons a 17-13 lead, which was all the momentum they would need for the victory.
“We wanted to work the inside first with our two post players and get to their shooters and contest,” Cameron coach Matt Wenck said. “We had to give up something, but we figured we’d rather have them beat us from 20 feet than 2. The girls did a good job at doing what they had to do. We finished the game strong and finished the game smart.”
After coming out of halftime ahead by a point, McVicker erupted as the Dragons went on a 12-4 run. Although McVicker scored 8 of the 12 points on fast-breaks, junior guard Mica Dunscombe played a significant role in the run. As Cameron’s solid post play pushed Columbia Battle’s offensive production to the perimeter, Dunscombe took advantage and intercepted a slew of Lady Spartan passes - resulting in easy close-range baskets on fast-breaks.
“I just watched their eyes to see where they wanted to go and who the open person was,” Dunscombe said.
A close-range bucket by Moore, then a 3-pointer by junior guard Braxton Shanks gave Cameron a double-digit lead. Another 3-pointer by Shanks in the fourth and a close-range shot by Joseph sealed the victory and gives the Lady Dragons plenty of motivation to improve before the kickoff of Midland Empire Conference play in 2021.
“We’ll practice Monday and Tuesday, take about five or six days off, then come back and get back into shape,” Wenck said. “We look forward to the second half of the season. We come back and play East Buchanan on the fifth and open on conference play the eight against Savannah.”