New-look Camel teams impress during opening weekend | Local
Both the boys ‘and girls’ basketball teams at Campbell County High School were barely recognizable during the REMAX / Gillette Invite preseason tournament that weekend.
The Camels only returned one starter from last year between the two teams. Despite their new identities, both teams opened the year with an impressive performance in their home country.
Camel’s senior Maddie Jacobson attempted to block Izzy Radakovich from Cody on Saturday afternoon during the Gillette Early Bird basketball tournament.
Camel girls show courage
The goal of every team is to win as many games as possible. But perhaps the best time to lose games is during a preseason tournament.
The Camels finished the weekend with a 1-2 record, but the real value of the tournament was in building the confidence of a team with just one senior. Newbies Kaylie Neary, Lauren Kuhbacher and Erika Martinez all saw plenty of playtime to complement team captains Millie Riss, Madison Rovertson and Maddie Jacobson.
Campbell County’s freshman Kaylie Neary lay-up against Cody Saturday afternoon during the Gillette Early Bird basketball tournament.
Neary was a little surprised at how many minutes she played in the first three college games of her career. But Neary was far from complaining about her time on the pitch.
“I didn’t think I would play that much,” said Neary. “But it was fun because I thought we were all going to fold under pressure and we didn’t.”
The pressure that Neary and her teammates faced this weekend was to play against three high quality opponents for three consecutive days. The Camels started the season with a 60-58 loss in overtime to St. Thomas More of South Dakota on Thursday.
Despite the defeat, forcing the South Dakota powerhouse into overtime was an encouraging sign for such a young team. The Cavaliers lost just two games last year, more games than the majority of Camels had played in their university career before Thursday.
Campbell County carried the momentum into Friday, beating Evanston 54-45 to take his first win of the season. Friday’s win against the Red Devils was also the first career win for coach Braidi Lutgen since taking office at her alma mater.
The Camels ended the season opening weekend with a 57-47 loss to Cody on Saturday. The Broncs started the season at # 3 on the WyoPrep.com coach and media basketball rankings and returned a large portion of their team from last year.
The first weekend of the season was far from perfect, said Lutgen. But Campbell County has shown a consistent battle over the weekend that will only intensify as the season progresses.
Campbell County High School freshman Lauren Kuhbacher searches CCHS for a position in Cody’s defense on Saturday afternoon.
The camels do not hunt statistics or seek awards. The camels pick up attacks, force sales and make free throws on the route. The smallest parts of the game have the greatest impact towards the end of the season, but Lutgen and her team laid the foundation for a successful campaign on the first weekend of the season.
Boys still shoot a lot
Campbell County’s boys’ team has a completely revamped starting grid after five seniors graduated from last year’s team. But this weekend the camels showed the longstanding tradition of the program of shooting many jump shots.
The Camels started the preseason tournament with a 72-54 loss to St. Thomas More on Friday, but recovered immediately with a 71-60 win over Evanston the next day.
Camel’s senior Austin Crimm attacks the rim when Campbell County receives Cody Saturday at the CCHS.
Campbell County closed the tournament with a big 74-47 win over Cody to start the season 2-1.
It was inevitable that the Camels would have a fresh offensive this season with a new top scorer, and senior Austin Crimm took over that role this weekend. Crimm scored 57 points in three games and led the Camels twice, setting up 23 and 20 against St. Thomas More and Evanston.
Crimm made 13 threes between the first two games, which would not be possible without the consistent ball movement of his teammates on the offensive.
“They knew I was hot and they found me and I just kept knocking them down,” Crimm said. “The more we move the ball, the more the defense collapses. We had some good moves on offense and some good energy on defense. “
Campbell County High School senior Austin Crimm drives the ball across the court while playing at CCHS Cody on Saturday afternoon.
The camels play much deeper this year, with a handful of newbies watching crucial college minutes early in the season. Mason Drube started for Campbell County while Lane Hladky, Rylan Robertson and Jackson Evans all saw time on the field.
Campbell County has a lot to find out on both sides of the floor, but this weekend was a good test to see where the camels are so early in the season, said coach Bubba Hladky.
“This first weekend is always about finding out who we are and what our identity is,” said Hladky. “We want to find out what works for us and what doesn’t. When you play against such good teams, you can see which areas you need to work on more.
Camel’s head coach Bubba Hladky speaks to his team during Saturday’s break while playing Cody at CCHS.
“Overall, I was satisfied with the guys and their commitment this weekend.”
Both Campbell County’s boys and girls teams will be traveling this weekend to compete in the Power2Play tournament in Windsor, Colorado. The camels will start the tournament on Thursday evening.
For CCHS basketball results, visit gillettenewsrecord.com or follow sports editor Alex Taylor on Twitter @ alex_m_taylor22.