Lady Yoe compete at Chamber Classic Tournament
Last week, the Cameron Yoemen and Lady Yoe basketball teams hosted the 23rd annual Christmas Classic. Teams from all over Central Texas came down to compete in the tournament and it lasted all day from Dec. 28- 30.
The Lady Yoe were placed in the maroon pool along with Flatonia and Snook. Cameron played two games on Tuesday; the first game was against the Flatonia Lady Bulldogs. Cameron would be defeated in a close battle 38-32.
The first quarter stayed even until Cameron started to trail 8-4. The first quarter ended with Flatonia in the lead 11-4. The Lady Yoe scored on a layup by Kaly White (3) for a score of 11-6, but then the Lady Bulldogs surged as the Cameron deficit grew to 17-6. Cameron began to come back with a big layup by Mia Wimmer (11) for a 17-10 game and continued the scoring run with a fantastic layup by White making the score 19-15. Halftime ended with Cameron closing the gap, still trailing 21-17.
The Lady Yoe came back to make it a one point game with a layup by Aliya Salazar (30) off a great assist by White to make the score 22-21. The Lady Yoe continued the momentum with a basket by Amani Fields (24) for a 26-23 game. The Lady Yoe then took the lead 27-26 on clutch layup by Kyli Leftwich (15). The third quarter ended with Cameron leading 29-26.
Flatonia shortly tied the score back at 29, then retook the lead 31-29. The Lady Bulldogs continued to surge as the deficit for Cameron grew to 35-29. The Lady Yoe tried to rally back with a basket by Fields for a 37-31 deficit, but still went on to lose the game 38-32.
The second game for Cameron Tuesday was a few hours later against the Snook Lady Jays. Cameron defeated Snook 39-31 in a competitive game. With that win Cameron would be second in their pool standings and faced off against the Navasota Lady Rattlers on Wednesday. Navasota came out on top 49-39.
Cameron began the game with a 6-2 start, then lost the lead at 9-8. The first quarter ended with Cameron trailing 13-8. The deficit for Cameron grew to 20-10, but with consecutive layups by Kaly White (3), the Lady Yoe soon made the score 20-17. Cameron tried to stay in the game with a basket by Camryn Ward (22) making the score 24-19. The Lady Rattlers went into halftime ahead 24-21.
The third quarter began slowly for Cameron and they fell to a 33-22 deficit in favor of the Lady Rattlers. Navasota continued to surge and the third quarter ended with the Lady Yoe trailing 35-22.
“The third quarter scored one point to their 11, we just weren’t able to put the ball in the hole,” Coach Destini Juri said.
The Lady Rattlers extended their lead to 44-27. Cameron tried to show life with a layup by White for a 44-29 score but would still lose the game 49-39. Juri was still proud of how they played and they are continuing to get better.
“We looked pretty great against Navasota,” Juri said. “We are building and the girls are buying in, trusting one another, and showing tremendous improvement. That’s all I can ask for. We have potential to shake up our district, that’s what this tournament is for, preparation.”
With that loss, the Lady Yoe went into the consolation bracket and faced the Snook Lady Jays for the second time in the tournament. Cameron went on to soundly defeat Snook 46-23 in dominating fashion. The Lady Yoe scored on a layup by Kaly White (3) for a 5-2 lead, followed up with a fastbreak layup by Ward for a 7-2 lead. The first quarter ended with Cameron ahead 10-4.
The Lady Yoe opened up the second quarter with a three-point play by Camryn Ward (22) to extend the lead to 13-4. Cameron then scored on two consecutive baskets by Kyli Leftwich (15) for a 17-8 lead and eventually widened the lead to 23-10. Cameron went into halftime winning 25-12.
The Lady Yoe stayed the aggressors in the third quarter and extended their lead to 34-18 on a three point make by Ward. The third quarter ended with the Lady Yoe ahead 36-20. Cameron kept up the offense with a basket by Aliya Salazar (30) making it a 40-20 lead. Cameron went on to win with a score of 46-23 over Snook.
In the end, Lake Belton went on to win the tournament as they defeated Jarrell in the championship on Dec. 30.