Camas survives last-gasp Bellarmine comeback effort, 59-53

Kiara Stone says the feeling of defeat will stay with her. She’s sure that Bellarmine Prep, with four returning starters next season, will be back.

The Lions led by three at halftime, but No. 9 Camas stormed back with five three-pointers in the third quarter and upset eighth-ranked Bellarmine in the first round of the 4A state tournament on Wednesday, 59-53. The Papermakers are bound for Thursday’s quarterfinals against Sumner.

“I’m so proud,” Stone said after the loss in the Tacoma Dome. “We’ve been through so much. We’re not even supposed to be here, so the fact that we are here shows how hard we wanted to work. Next year, we’re coming for everything that we didn’t get this year.”

With two minutes left in the contest, Bellarmine trailed by 15, and if not for Stone’s late-game heroics, would have lost by a larger margin. The sophomore guard went for seven points in the final quarter, including a last-minute three-pointer that forced a Camas timeout.

“We knew what they were going to do with their screens and traps,” Stone said. “Obviously, we weren’t able to execute.”

Wednesday’s first-round contest featured little perimeter shooting in the opening minutes. Instead, both teams drove inside to draw fouls and find easier looks. After one quarter, Camas’ Parker Mairs had either team’s only three-pointer. The Lions, for much of the first half, passed on decent looks from beyond the arc and opted to force the ball inside.

“We tried to attack the paint, be physical, rebound,” Lions coach Kabre Keller said. “But rebounds and layups cost us this game today.”

Camas won the rebounding battle, 51-32. They grabbed 27 offensive rebounds to Bellarmine’s nine, and held their late lead with the ability to grab, at times, multiple offensive boards per possession.

When Bellarmine took a first-quarter lead, Camas kept close with offensive rebounds and second chances. Their deficit grew to eight points after Bellarmine began the second half on a 5-0 run, but the Papermakers, with a timeout in response, stopped the Lions’ momentum.

“(I had to) rally the girls back in,” Camas coach Scott Thompson said. “It’s kind of what we’ve done this year. We’ve had so many times where adversity has hit. … They just keep fighting.

“So when (Reagan) Jamison hit the three out of the timeout, everything lifted. Our bench started to get louder. Our defense (got) better. Our rebounding was tremendous in the third, and it felt like it all just fed off of making a couple baskets. When that energy started to come, everybody wanted the ball and everybody wanted to shoot.”

From that timeout on, Camas put together a 21-8 run to finish the third quarter. Reagan Jamison, who led all scorers with 19, drained three triples in the period. Keirra Thompson and Ava Smith each made another.

Jamison’s 17 rebounds led both teams. Kendall Mairs added 14.

The Lions, over roughly a six-minute period, suddenly lost an eight-point lead and instead trailed by five with a quarter to play. Keller told his team to keep their heads held high, and to “just play basketball.” Thompson, on the other end, wanted Camas to focus on transition defense and controlling the pace.

The Papermakers, now 17-8, played Bellarmine twice earlier this season, and split the pair. On Dec. 21, Camas took down the Lions, 88-66. They’d lose the second meeting on Feb. 19, 73-65. Wednesday’s contest not only determined who would advance, but who would win the season series.

Camas’ lead ballooned to 15 with just 2:02 remaining in the game. Bellarmine’s 10-1 run cut the lead to six, though their last-gasp comeback effort fell short.

“One, they’re having a blast. But two, we’ve got a little bit of ‘ignorance is bliss’ because they’re so young,” Thompson said. “We don’t know what tomorrow looks like, because we’ve never been there before. We’re just going to go out and have fun, let it rip, and we’re absolutely excited for this moment.”

Each of Thompson’s five starters are underclassmen. Bellarmine’s team is nearly as young, too. They’ll have four returning starters next season, and graduate only three seniors this spring.

“I think it helps the program, because we’re setting the standard right now,” Keller said. “Hopefully this sparks a change for our program… we plan on being back here next March.”

Stone led Bellarmine with 17 points. Lions guard Jada Travis added six points in the fourth quarter, and 16 for the game. Senior forward Taylor Teeple drained a pair of three-pointers in the final period and finished with 12.

This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 7:05 PM.