The CAM Cougars had a strong road effort as they swept a doubleheader on the road against Stanton as the girls won 58-28 while the boys earned a come-from-behind 61-59 win. Although the girls got off to a bit of a slow start while the Viqueens kept it close, the Cougars started to pull away in the second quarter. The defense flew around and got hands on the basketball all night long. Forcing numerous turnovers, the defense helped propel the offense while Ada Hansen used her speed and playmaking ability to drive the scoring. The Cougars were also strong on the glass, especially in the second half on their way to their 11th win of the season. Meanwhile the boys’ game was a contest of runs. Early on it was all Stanton as the Vikings held an 11-2 lead late in the first. However, CAM found a response and went on a run of their own to tie the game before the end of the frame. Although the Vikings had a strong second quarter to take a 10-point lead into the half, the second half was all CAM. Their ability to force turnovers and take advantage of what they were given was the difference as the Cougars built a lead. Although Stanton pushed back late, CAM held on the pickup their sixth win of the season.

GIRLS

Offense was at a premium for the girls in the early going. Through the first three minutes CAM managed just a single field goal and led 2-0 while Daphna Wahlert nailed a three around the halfway point. The 5-0 score would until the final two minutes in which each side found some offense. The Cougars were first expanding the lead to nine, but the Viqueens answered back. Over the final minute Stanton outscored CAM 6-2 to cut the deficit to five. A neither team came out on fire to start the second quarter, it was the Cougars who took control in the back half of the frame. After scoring just four in the first three minutes, the Cougars ended the half on a 12-5 run. at this point CAM’s defense took over. The Cougars were excellent at putting themselves in the passing lanes, getting their hands on, deflecting or intercepting passes which led to a large number of turnovers. That in turn fueld their offense for the rest of the night and they wouldn’t look back.

CAM continue to put the pedal to medal in the third quarter as the frame was their most productive of the game. Hansen scored six of her game leading 20 points in the frame while Ruthie Rich added nine. By the end of the third quarter the Cougars where in full control and were able to cruise their way to a win. Piper French led the way for the Viqueens with 10 points, while Gabi Grebin followed closely behind with nine. The viqueens as a group showed fight and promise for such a young team, but ran into a CAM team that was bigger, stronger, and more experienced.

Girls head coach Joe Wollum was pleased with the disruptiveness of his defense.

Wollum also complimented the effort of Hansen who although led the game in scoring with 20 points, did much more.

The CAM girls will remain on the road for a tough test against a ranked Exira-EHK-Audubon team tomorrow and Wollum knows aspects of their game will have to improve.

 

BOYS

The boys’ game was one a tail of two halves, but also one that was defined by runs. Stanton had the run of play in the first half however, had it not been for a pair of CAM runs in response, the Cougars might not have had the opportunity to comeback. By the five-minute mark of the first quarter, Stanton had an 11-2 lead, in large part due to the play of Cooper Dreyer who hit two threes on his way to nine points. Meanwhile Gunnar Hogueison had scored the only basket for CAM. However, Hogueison  went on to kick start the offense with a pair of threes as by the end of the quarter the Cougars had knotted things up at 11.  Unfortunately for the Cougars, the momentum did not carry over into the second. Stanton got right back to work, starting the frame with an 8-2 run. Again, the three-point shooting was on for the Vikings as Nolan Case hit three of them in the second quarter. Although CAM got outscored in the quarter 19-9, they were able to keep the deficit at no bigger than 10.

The second half was night and day for the Cougars. Where they struggled for offense in the first half, they were much more efficient in the second half. Braxton Dennis was electric in the second half scoring 17 of his game-leading 22 points in the third and fourth quarter. Just three minutes into the third quarter, CAM had taken the lead and wouldn’t trail again. The defense was also a big part of the comeback for the Cougars, as the Cougars forced a number of turnovers that fed into their offense. Despite trailing by 11 with five minutes to go, the Vikings never went away. The Cougars slowed down their pace and were outscored 14-7 over the final five minutes. With just seconds remaining the Vikings were in striking distance but didn’t cash in while the Cougars hit their free-throws to hold on and improve to 6-10.

Boys head coach Nick Hunt shared what was said in the locker room that helped turn things around at halftime.

The defense’s ability to force turnovers was a major factor in the comeback.

As the end of the season approached Hunt likes what he sees but believes that consistency will be key moving forward.

The Cougars will be back in action Friday as they have a doubleheader in Elk-Horn to close out the week.