Camden Castleberry had 21 points for North Harrison and got a career high as the Shamrocks got their third win out of their last four tries and held off Worth County 34-26 Friday. For Worth County, they had every right to expect a better outcome. They had all their big guns back, with Kynah Steele, Ali Brown, and Abbi Brown back on the floor after battling injuries last month. That gave them a big size advantage in the paint, and they won the battle of the boards 41-29.
Castleberry’s night was a career high for her. Her previous high was 20 points last year against Grundy County in the Newtown-Harris gym. She also had 19 points last year in the consolation win over Tri-County at the South Harrison Tournament and 18 points earlier this year in the Gilman City win.
But North Harrison overcame their size disadvantage and did it despite missing one of their sparkplugs in Halle Morgan. Despite not being one of the scoring leaders, she had always made some hustle plays for them, and was a key spark in their win over Gilman City. They did it despite not getting a point from Jayliegh Robins, who found things tough going against the much taller Tiger front line.
Coach Aaron Long said that for the first time all year, the Shamrocks came in believing in themselves, and they kept it up the whole game. Even when Worth County tied it up in the fourth quarter, they never stopped believing in themselves. And after a horrific stretch in which they missed 10 free throws in a tow, they made 12 out of their last 14 after the Tigers had rallied in the fourth quarter to tie.
Worth County looked like they would take control of the game at times in the first quarter. Kynah Steele, who had eaten the Shamrocks alive three years ago in junior high in the Tigers’ 37-15 win that year, got Worth County going and they went ahead 4-1. But then Erin Virtue hit a free throw, Camden Castleberry scored off a drive after Trendi Johnson, the littlest player on the floor, kept a possession alive with an offensive board, and Johnson added a triple to make it 7-4.
Autumn Cousatte got the hot hand for Worth County, hitting a 3-pointer and Justina Wimer hit another to spark the Tigers to an 11-7 lead with 1:01 left in the first. But Castleberry hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 11-10 after one quarter of play.
Neither side could find the range in the second quarter. The only scoring was a putback by Jaci Davis to put the Shamrocks in front 12-11, followed by a free throw from Steele and an inside shot from Ali Brown to put the Tigers back in front 14-12 at the break. North Harrison shot themselves in the foot as the missed free throws began to mound.
The score remained stuck at 14-12 until the 5:09 mark of the third, when Camden Castleberry got untracked with a 3-pointer off a pass from Trendi Johnson to make it 15-14. Jayliegh Robins hit her on a cut inside and Erin Virtue kicked one out to her for three to make it 20-16. Kynah Steele’s putback cut it to two, but Jayliegh Robins hit Erin Virtue from the right side to make it 22-18 at the third quarter break.
But the missed free throws let Worth County back in the game. Taylor Sanders sparked them with a 3-pointer to start the fourth, and by the 5:42 mark, the Shamrock lead was gone as Kynah Steele’s free throw tied it up at 22. But that woke the green shirts up as they suddenly started making their free throws. Camden Castleberry hit one, Trendi Johnson hit two, and Erin Virtue hit one to put the Shamrocks back up 26-22 at the 3:11 mark. Meanwhile, the foul trouble proved to be too much for the Tigers as Ali Brown picked up her fifth foul. Abbi Brown hit a free throw for the Tigers, but Erin Virtue hit two for the Shamrocks to make it 28-23 with 2:38 left in the game.
Autumn Cousatte hit her second 3-pointer with 2:01 to resurrect the Tigers’ chances and make it 28-26, but then the Shamrocks bled the clock down to 1:36 left before the Tigers could foul. Coach Long said that having won two other close games against Hale and Gilman City helped them out during that stretch. Camden Castleberry was automatic from the line to make it two possessions again at 30-26. Jayliegh Robins, who had not scored all night, came up big on the other end and got a tip and steal, and once again, Camden was automatic, hitting both tries at the line with 1:01 left to make it 32-26.
Kynah Steele missed inside and Camden hit two more free throws with 26 seconds left to make it 34-26. Worth County missed two more tries, and Camden was able to dribble out the clock for the win.
For Worth County, Autumn Cousatte had 7. Kynah Steele had 6, Ali Brown 4, Justina Wimer and Taylor Sanders 3, and Paige Sherer and Abbi Brown 2.
Ali Brown had 2 blocks. Hailey Adwell and Kynah Steele had 1.
The Tigers had 10 different players get boards for the night. Ali Brown and Kynah Steele had 7 each, Autumn Cousatte 6, Abbi Brown 5, Hailey Adwell and Brylee Rush 4 each, and Justina Wimer, Liz Brown, Paige Sherer, and Taylor Sanders 2 each.
Kynah Steele and Autumn Cousatte had 2 assists. Paige Sherer, Liz Brown, and Hailey Adwell had 1 each.
Kynah Steele had 7 tips. Abbi Brown and Autumn Cousatte had 3 each, Ali Brown and Hailey Adwell 2 each, and Taylor Sanders and Paige Sherer 1 each.
Kynah Steele and Hailey Adwell had 2 steals each. Liz Brown, Paige Sherer, and Autumn Cousatte had 1 each.
Camden Castleberry had 21 points to lead the Shamrocks. Erin Virtue had 6 (career high). Trendi Johnson had 5, and Jaci Davis 2.
Jayliegh Robins had 2 blocks and Erin Virtue 1.
Erin Virtue had 8 boards. Jaci Davis and Jayliegh Robins had 5 each. Kira Robertson, who saw extended minutes for the Shamrocks Friday, had 4 along with Camden Castleberry. Trendi Johnson had 2 and Karley Koch 1.
Jaci Davis had 3 assists. Erin Virtue, Trendi Johnson, and Jayliegh Robins had 2 each, and Camden Castleberry 1.
Camden Castleberry had 9 tips. Erin Virtue had 6, Trendi Johnson, Jayliegh Robins, and Jaci Davis had 3 each, and Kira Robertson 1.
Jayliegh Robins and Camden Castleberry had 4 steals each. Trendi Johnson had 3, while Jaci Davis, Erin Virtue, and Karley Koch had 1 each.
But the most important stat for the Shamrocks was the turnover numbers. Despite facing full court pressure by Worth County for most of the game, North Harrison only turned the ball over 10 times.
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