12/29/09

The Camas High School girls basketball players celebrate after beating Battle Ground to win their first tournament since 2002. Dan Trujillo/Post-Record

Christmas in Battle Ground for Camas girls basketball
Five games in eight days rewards Papermakers with a championship trophy

By Dan Trujillo
Post-Record staff

Christmas came three days early for the Camas High School girls basketball team.

The Papermakers defeated Ridgefield 45-36 and Battle Ground 53-30 to bring home a first-place trophy from a holiday tournament at Battle Ground High School.

"It was a complete team effort," said Melissa Williams. "Everyone was on their game tonight, and we pulled it off having fun. That was the most important part."

Williams led the Papermaker attack with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Although the 6-foot junior towers above most of her opponents, she was just a small slice of the championship pie. In fact, she spent most of the second half on the bench watching her teammates have a ball.

Kendra Preuninger nailed a big 3-pointer in the third quarter. Both her and Kat DeVera played with a lot of desire at the point. Katelyn Henson was a monster on the inside gobbling up rebounds and making baskets. She finished with 10 points, eight boards and two blocked shots.

"Our team gave 100 percent, maybe even more," Henson said. "When that ball bounced off the rim, we wanted it more than Battle Ground. That's what won it for us."

Nine different Papermakers put points on the board. Preuninger finished with seven, Kelsi Krill collected six, Haley Smith had five, DeVera and Kayla Roche each scored four, and Emily Ainsworth and Caitlin Bower bucketed two. Camas also beat Battle Ground on the glass for 40 rebounds.

"I cannot stress enough how important this tournament was for building momentum and coming together as a team," said head coach Kent Thomas. "This is our reward for a rough December. We've played some tough teams and taken our lumps, but nobody can take this win away from us. The last thing I told the girls before they got their trophy was how proud I was of them."

Read the rest of the story in the Dec. 29 issue of the Post-Record