CAMERON — Coming into Wednesday’s game against the Linsley Cadets, Cameron’s Ashlyn Van Tassel needed two rebounds to surpass a school record of 1,104.
It took the first down until the 1:10 mark of the first quarter to get the job done, becoming the Dragons’ all-time leader en route to helping Cameron beat the Cadets 59-44.
“It’s great to be coaching someone who has achieved so much, and there is more to come.” Cameron coach Holly Pettit said. “I’m happy to be able to coach someone like this and be surrounded by a team like this. I’m very proud of her, she works hard, and she deserves the recognition she gets.
“that means alot to me,” Van Tassel said of owning the record. Over the summer, I ended up tearing my meniscus and had to have the meniscus repaired. Coming back to this season, I wanted to be a better person than I was last year, and this record feels good.
“When I was playing in middle school, I knew I could be a good player, but I also knew I had to keep working and working. It got me here now, and I’m having fun.”
Van Tassel finished with eight rebounds along with 19 points in the win, while Cameron’s Macy Neely led all scorers with 23 points, scoring 11 points in a heated fourth quarter.
The second half heavily favored the Dragons, who built a seven-point halftime lead to clinch a double-digit win by the final buzzer.
Linsly came out ready to battle the Camerons inside Dragons Den, going up three in a back-and-forth first quarter, with Rosa Sohlberg and Abby White each hitting a pair of field goals and Haylen Cook hitting a 3-pointer.
Cook, usually Linsley’s point guard, was extremely limited on Wednesday, playing only a few scattered minutes in the first quarter before leaving the game for good.
Overall, there were four lead changes and two ties in the first quarter, but an 8-2 run until the end of the period put Cameron ahead 16-11.
The match witnessed a fast pace until the end of the first half, and only two free throws were scored during the first half.
There were very few shooting errors at all on Wednesday, with Linsley shooting 2-8 from the line while Cameron shot 3-4.
Abby White hit her first of four 3-pointers in the second half, but Cameron’s lead grew to seven in the locker room as Van Tassel scored six points in the second quarter.
In the second half, the Dragons led by as many as 19 men to decisively defend their home court on Van Tassel’s historic day.
While Cameron walked away with the win, Petit still wanted more from her dragons.
“I don’t think we played good defense all night.” Pettit said. “In the first half we gave up too many basket shots, and in the second half we gave up too many threes. This is something we need to get back to practice and work harder and get better at. We came back on Friday night with a tough game, and teams see that and will try.” Take advantage of it.
“At halftime, I talked about being patient on offense, crashing the boards, and not giving up offensive rebounds. I think we did a better job of all of that in the second half.”
Cameron grabbed 12 offensive rebounds, with four each from Van Tassel and Emily Dobbs, and beat Linsley 24-19 on Wednesday.
“They weren’t really attacking us, so I told the girls that any more might break the glass.” Pettit said. “I think that was the defense, there were more girls diving in there and we were able to get some offensive boards.”
Along with Neely’s 21 and Van Tassell’s 19, Emilee Dobbs, Ashlee Dobbs and Kenzie Clutter rounded out the scoring total for Cameron. Chaos totaled six assists.
Linsley led Abby White with 17 points. Rosa Solberg scored 11 and Jade Purpura scored eight and both had six rebounds.
Van Tassel now sits alone at the top of the Cameron leaderboard with 1,111 points, nearly 200 points away from the team’s all-time scoring record.
“We knew it was coming, and she knew it was close.” Pettit said. “It was good to achieve it on the pitch in front of the home team’s fans.”
In an exciting match-up between the Cameron Dragons and the Linsley Cadets, the Dragons emerged victorious with a hard-fought win. The game was filled with intense moments and impressive plays, showcasing the skill and determination of both teams. This victory adds to the Dragons’ impressive season and solidifies their standing in the sports world. Stay tuned for more updates on this thrilling win and other exciting news, sports, and job opportunities in the local community.