Lady Dragons topple Richmond 47-39 in overtime
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The Cameron High School Lady Dragon Basketball Team snapped a two-game losing streak Tuesday after topping Richmond 47-39 in overtime.
The Richmond Lady Trojans’ aggressive, full-court press defense backfired with mounting fouls putting Cameron in double bonus by the third quarter and picking up all but 4 points from the free-throw line while earning their first victory of 2023.
“[Addi McVicker] is the overtime killer. She did it tonight, and she did it in Higginsville too, when she had 7. She had 4 or 5 in this one. It didn’t bother her. It’s great. We haven’t played since December 18th. It’s been a while. I thought we started off pretty good. We were up 13-2 right off the bat,” Cameron coach Matt Wenck said.
Fouls and free-throws ultimately decided Tuesday’s game. With 12 seconds left in regulation, Cameron senior forward Claire Wenck drew a foul in the paint, converting the second free-throw to tie the game 39-39 and sending it into overtime. With the majority of Richmond’s starting lineup having four fouls before the extra period, each subsequent infraction not only put Cameron at the free-throw line, it also removed key pieces of the Lady Trojans’ offense.
Having reached the double bonus before the fourth quarter, the Lady Dragons went on the attack - driving to the basket for the high-percentage shot or to draw a foul knowing it would automatically result in two shots at the free-throw line. McVicker seemed the primary target hitting the Lady Dragons only field goal in overtime and adding to Cameron’s lead by hitting 75 percent of her free throws in overtime.
“I knew driving in, they were just going to foul me. They don’t really have the height to block us at the jump. I knew if we drove in, they were going to foul. They had so many fouls as a team. No matter what, if we drove into them, then we would get free throws,” said McVicker, whose 11 points was good for second in team scoring.
After missing the first half of the season due to mononucleosis diagnosis, Cameron junior guard Eme Teel made a significant impact in her 2023 debut. She scored a majority of her team-leading 15 points in the first half, but her 4 points in the fourth quarter played a crucial part in sending the game to overtime.
“I was really nervous at first, but I was just like ‘play how you know how to play and play like you’re at practice.’ It paid off. I felt really confident with my girls around me. It was kind of hard at first,” Teel said.
The Lady Dragons open Midland Empire Conference play on the road Thursday against Savannah. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.