Cameron holds off Madonna in OT
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WEIRTON -- With Thursday night's contest tied with less than a second remaining in the fourth quarter, Madonna had the perfect call.
In-bounding from underneath its hoop, Marianna Martinez received the pass, took it from the left side of her hip over her head and nailed the layup for what would have been the game winner.
However, that took roughly 0.6 seconds to develop, and the Blue Dons only had 0.1. So, the game went into overtime, and Class A powerhouse Cameron took enough control to escape with a 51-47 victory.
"I'm extremely proud of my team in the second half. That's just the team I need for four quarters, and that's all we talked about," Madonna head coach Cory Wingett said. "I think Cameron is ranked seventh or eighth in Class A in the state, so they just proved they can play with the Top 10 in Class A."
In overtime, the Dragons' Ashlynn Vantassall began with a close-range shot, then Lili Neely later made one free throw for a three-point advantage.
Later on, the Blue Dons' Jazzy Melnyk missed a shot, collected her own rebound and put it back in, cutting the deficit to 45-44.
Then, with one minute to play, Neely drained an all-important 3-point field goal off of an assist from Vantassall for a two-possession advantage. Madonna (1-3) missed shortly after, forcing Kenzie Clutter to the foul line. She made it a 49-44 game after just one freebie (no second attempt due to a violation).
Melnyk, who was clutch in the entire second half, swished a 3-pointer near the halfcourt line with 3.1 seconds left. After the Blue Dons called their final timeout, Clutter went back to the line with 1.3 showing, and she nailed both charity shots to end the contest.
Overall, Cameron (3-1) finished 4 of 8 from the foul line. Through the first four quarters, it was 0 for 2. Madonna was 12 of 19 all together but had no attempts in OT.
"My girls shoot at least 25 free throws every day before practice because I always tell them free throws and defense wins basketball games. (Thursday), it showed," Cameron head coach Holly Pettit said. "Clutter hit some major free throws for us at the end."
The game was tied, 38-38, with 2:46 remaining in the final frame. Madonna would record four steals in the next two minutes or so but failed to capitalize. The next bucket occurred when Emma Whipkey hit a layup with a little more than one minute left.
Melnyk gave her squad the lead back with 58.5 seconds remaining following a close-range jumper and converting the and-1 opportunity. She later went 1 of 2 from the charity stripe with 30.2 seconds left -- her lone miss of the game (7 of 8 overall) -- for a 42-40 advantage.
Taking the clock down to 11.6, Reagan Gray hit a game-tying jumper off of an assist from Neely.
"We knew they would try to get the ball to Jazzy," Pettit said regarding her defense in the final 11.6 seconds. "She caught fire in the second half, and when she's on, she's on. We switched every pick to get her away from the basketball. She kicked it out to (Anna Backel), we got in her face and fortunately the shot missed."
Following a timeout, Whipkey nearly stole the ball from Melnyk a few seconds later but was ruled out of bounds. Melnyk then took the ball down the right side, was being double teamed and kicked it to Backel. With a hand in her face, she missed a long-range shot that went out of bounds with 0.1 seconds left.
For all that transpired, Wingett believes the game was won and lost much earlier.
"That little segment in the second quarter cost us. As a team, as a coaching, I have to get them prepared to feel what four quarters of effort feels like. Against a team like that, you can't take five minutes off," he said.
The Blue Dons led, 14-13, after one quarter, then were outscored 14-4 in the second and trailed, 27-18, at halftime. They coughed the ball up eight times (21 overall).
They made up for it with a 15-5, eight-minute scoring run in the third for a 33-32 lead at the conclusion, including back-to-back 3-pointers by Melnyk.
The Dragons ended the third with a 3 of their own, then hit two more quickly to open the fourth thanks to Neely and Clutter.
Melnyk led Madonna with a game-high 24 points (19 after halftime), five rebounds, two assists and at least seven steals.
"She had 24 points, but what people don't see is she's leading our defense at the top of our key or in the center position," Wingett said. "We move her around all over the place. She's our leader on defense, plus the point production. I'm telling you, she's such a special player."
Martinez finished with eight points and 10 boards. Vanessa Alatis also scored eight and grabbed five rebounds. Backel added seven points, four boards and four assists. Alaina Moore did not score but was a force in the paint defensively.
For Cameron, Clutter led with 15 points, four rebounds and four dimes. Vantassall, just a freshman, produced a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds (eight and seven in the first half). Neely chipped in 11 points.
"(Vantassall) is our big post player. She got into foul trouble early, so that's why she sat (for the majority of the second half)," Pettit said.
JV ACTION
Cameron won the two-quarter jayvee contest, 22-13. Emilee Dobbs paced the Dragons with eight points, while Madonna's Miranda Sole scored six.
UP NEXT
Cameron: Tentatively travels to Valley on Tuesday.
Oak Glen: Tentatively hosts Oak Glen with a 1 p.m. JV start Saturday.
"Looking at the steppingstones we've made, we're climbing a ladder to the postseason," Wingett said. "We are seeing improvement in every game. We can't take a night off. It's one right after another, but we're not complaining. That's how we'll get better."
Cameron 51, Madonna 47 (OT)
Cameron 13 14 5 10 9 -- 51
Madonna 14 4 15 10 5 -- 47
CAMERON (3-1): Whipkey 4 0-0 9; Clutter 4 3-3 15; Gray 3 0-3 6; Neely 4 1-2 11; Vantassall 5 0-0 10; Carter 0 0-0 0; Dobbs 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 21, 4-8: 51.
MADONNA (1-3): Backel 3 1-4 7; Alatis 3 2-3 8; Martinez 3 2-4 8; Moore 0 0-0 0; Melnyk 7 7-8 24; Wingett 0 0-0 0; Yacos 0 0-0 0; Lenhart 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16, 12-19: 47.
3-POINT GOALS: Cameron 7 (Whipkey, Clutter 4, Neely 2); Madonna 3 (Melnyk 3). REBOUNDS: Cameron 38 (Vantassall 12, Whipkey 11); Madonna 32 (Martinez 10). ASSISTS: Cameron 13 (Clutter 4); Madonna 7 (Backel 4). TURNOVERS: Cameron 16; Madonna 21.