Addison Harris drives to the hoop for two of her 17 points Friday night as Camas topped defending state champion Eastlake. Photo by Mike Schultz

Camas community creates special atmosphere for Papermakers’ victory

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

The Camas Papermakers are out to make the most of their home girls basketball games this year. They don’t have many, but a few of them are big-time events on the schedule.

Friday night, Camas played host to the defending Class 4A state champions — the team that beat Camas in the championship game back in March.

On this night, it was Camas that came out on top, pulling away from Eastlake in the closing minutes for a 58-46 victory.

The game itself might not be remembered for anything other than a non-league contest in this long journey of the 2023-24 basketball season.

The atmosphere, though? That was special.

“It was awesome. The community support we have, not just from our own school, but people around town who hear about women’s basketball,” said senior Addison Harris, who had 12 of her team-high 17 points in the second half Friday night.

It is an event when the Camas girls basketball team plays a home game. The Papermakers hosted defending state champion Eastlake on Friday, and students and the community showed up to create a fun atmosphere. Photo by Mike Schultz

“Coming to support women’s basketball, in general, is really important to us,” Harris added. “It’s neat to see it happen. It doesn’t happen at a lot of other places. It’s unique to us.”

A big student section. A large crowd from the community. And the band.

Oh yeah, and the state champions came to town, as well.

“It’s amazing,” senior Reagan Jamison said. “Not many girls games get this big of a crowd. Our student section comes out. Our band is the best in the state. I haven’t heard a better band. It’s just an awesome experience.”

Reagan Jamison, who missed most of last season with an injury, is healthy again. She had another all-around solid performance, on offense and defense, to help Camas to victory on Friday night. Photo by Mike Schultz

Jamison is back to being her typical, dominating self on the basketball court. She missed most of last year with an injury, and even when she returned for the postseason, she wasn’t close to being 100 percent.

Friday night, she scored nine points and was a force on defense all night. She had two blocked shots on one Eastlake possession, then grabbed the defensive rebound to start the Camas attack the other way.

“My body feels really well. Not only am I healthy, but my team is backing me up behind me,” Jamison said. “It’s great to be back.”

Camas’ Keirra Thompson gets around the Eastlake defense for this contested layup in Friday’s win. Photo by Mike Schultz

Camas trailed for about 15 seconds Friday night, falling behind by a point midway through the second quarter. Riley Sanz then buried a 3-pointer for the Papermakers, who never trailed again.

The champions, though, did cut a 12-point deficit to three points midway through the fourth quarter. It was all Camas from there, though, with the Papermakers outscoring the Wolves 13-4 down the stretch.

“It was good to win this,” Harris said. “I think we needed this one.”

No, it has nothing to do with last season’s result. Instead, the Papermakers wanted to see where they stood for this season.

“We’re definitely going to see them again in the playoffs,” Harris said. “Good to have tough games like this under our belts.”

This was one of five home games on the schedule for the Papermakers this season. The other 15 games are on the road as Camas has traveled or will travel in search of quality competition. The Papermakers hope to earn another home game in the bi-districttournament, then another nearby game at regionals, but the rest of the playoff games would be out of town.

The goal, of course, is to get to the Tacoma Dome.

The Papermakers have new shooting shirts this year that they wear for warmups, stating they have unfinished business.

By the end of this season, the Camas Papermakers look to be the new champions after finishing that unfinished business.