By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
If you didn’t think George Rogers Clark, Kentucky’s unanimous No. 2 girls’ basketball team, was a really big deal, all you had to do was check out their 28-player KHSAA roster in a sport where only 15 players are allowed to suit up for a tournament game.
Or maybe, on their first trip to the far northern reaches of the 10th Region – for two straight nights, of course – you could check out their schedule that had them playing the likes of Archbishop Mitty from San Jose, Calif., or Christ the King from Middle Village, N.Y., or Crestwood Preparatory College from Toronto, Canada; or Chicago Butler College Prep or two games against Cincinnati Princeton, the Lady Cardinals know how to travel.
This weekend they were in Alexandria – Friday night against host Campbell County, Saturday in the finals against Bishop Brossart — which means we’ve given the plot away. For the folks from Winchester, they’re thinking this will be just a brief stop on the way to the Saturday night finals next week in the Sweet 16 in Rupp Arena.
From the days when they were known as Clark County, the Cardinals – girls and boys – have been Kentucky basketball royalty. As they are now, at 24-7 overall and 17-2 against Kentucky teams with the only losses to No. 1 Sacred Heart, another national program.
Probably no way to get ready for what the deep, strong, long, quick, physical and very determined Lady Cardinals will bring your way. The young Camels would have liked to schedule them, just to get the feel of what it’s like to go against a program like that but couldn’t get on the GRC dance card this year, Camels’ Coach Davey Johnson said after George Rogers Clark’s 68-34 romp.
“I thought we handled their pressure (a full-game, full-court defense that challenged every dribble, pass, shot and shot fake), a fantastic job there,” Johnson said. But after that, only one Camel was able to finish.
That would be junior Isabella Jayasuriya, who scored all 11 of Campbell County’s 11 first-half points and the team’s first 14 points before Macie Peoples hit three free throws with 6:40 left in the third quarter to make it 34-17 against a Cardinal team that just did not let up, no matter how deep they went to their bench.
“They have so many players who do so many things,” Johnson said as the Cardinals were led by senior Jailenn Green, who was averaging 9.6 points a game but scored 22, and tough, do-everything including nearly putting up her dukes after getting knocked down – sophomore point guard Kennedy Stamper with 14.
“Bigger, faster, stronger athletes,” Johnson said. Although in a bid to get his team with its two freshmen guards against similar competition, the Camels had little luck. They were unable to play scheduled games with Louisville Assumption and Franklin County because of the weather and then the Simon Kenton game dropped out at season’s end.
“We’ve got everybody back,” Johnson said, indicating this loss wasn’t the end for this group but the start for next year. So can we expect the Camels to go national, scheduling teams from New York to San Jose?
“We can’t afford it,” Johnson said with a laugh. But with Jayasuriya back to lead them, look for the Camels to challenge themselves going forward.
“People need to step up,” said Jayasuriya, who managed to drive through the GRC defenders as well as fire in a couple of deep threes just two dribbles across midcourt.
“We need to step up on defense,” she said, “take care of the ball and handle the pressure.”
SCORING SUMMARY
George Rogers Clark 13 17 16 22—68
Campbell County 4 7 15 8—34
George Rogers Clark (24-7): Stamper 5 0 4-4 14, Chestnut 1 1 0-0 5, Byars 2 0 2-3 6, Yeast 4 0 0-1 8, Green 8 1 3-5 22, Cecil 0 0 0-0 0, Howard 1 0 0-0 2, Settles 0 0 0-0 0, Goodwin 0 0 0-0 0, Jones 2 0 0-0 4, Stakelin 0 1 0-0 3, Maxwell 0 0 0-0 0, Miller 1 0 0-0 2, Strode 1 0 0-0 2; TOTALS: 22 2 7-10 68.
Campbell County (18-10): Barbian 1 0 2-2 4, Mullins 0 0 0-0 0, Davis 2 1 0-0 7, Peoples 1 0 4-7 6, Elam 0 0 0-0 0, Augsback 0 0 0-0 0, Whitfield 0 0 0-0 0, Jayasuriya 2 3 4-7 17, Feebeck 0 0 0-0 0, Schultz 0 0 0-0 0, Bittner 0 0 0-0 0, Weinel 0 0 0-0 0, Appel 0 0 0-2 0, Mattox 0 0 0-0 0; TOTALS: 6 4 10-18 34.