3A State Championship: Camden HS vs Keenan HS

Coach Reggie McLain’s Keenan team has become well-accustomed to being in the scenario it was in on Friday evening – an opportunity to claim a 3A state championship. After all, the Raiders had won the last two – and were looking to make it a third after defeating Marion and Bishop England in previous championship games. As it turned out, coach Natalie Jeffcoat-Norris’ Camden team provided the toughest test yet for Keenan, but the Raiders 3A 3-peat was complete by way of a thrilling 60-58 victory over the Bulldogs. “This one is the best,” McLain said. “This one is the best cause this is a 3-peat and this is something that we talked about all season to get.” Back and Forth It was arguably the best game of the fourth contested at the USC-Aiken Convocation Center on Friday. Keenan had led by a margin of 13-8 after the first quarter only to see Camden outscore the Raiders 19-13 in the second quarter and bring a 27-26 lead into halftime. The Bulldogs’ fortunes became really bullish early in the third quarter when they embarked on a 9-2 run to begin the third quarter and extend its lead to an eight-point buffer at 36-28. The Raiders then responded with eight consecutive of their own to tie the game at 36. Keenan took a 36-30 lead heading into that fourth quarter. One More Chance… In the game’s closing moments, both teams were knotted up at 58 only to see Keenan go up by a margin of 60-58, but Camden had the ball on the final possession. The Bulldogs had a couple of good looks on that final try – one from the perimeter and another near the rim. Neither shot attempt went through the net and a 3-peat was complete for the Raiders. Primetime Performers <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4252-scaled-crop-1982x1302-1646485269.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-396583" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4252-scaled-crop-1982x1302-1646485269-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Given this is the slimmest margin of victory of the Raiders’ three 3A championship triumphs, Keenan needed every single one of the 41 points [player_tooltip player_id="124104" first="Milaysia" last="Fulwiley"] contributed. They also needed the 17 rebounds (a double-double) she hauled in along with five steals and four assists. Fulwiley also came through at the free throw line as she had eight of Keenan’s 11 attempts from the charity stripe while swishing home seven of those eight tries. Milaysia finishes her junior season with 2,361 career points. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4241-scaled-crop-1164x765-1646485375.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-396585" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4241-scaled-crop-1164x765-1646485375-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> When the Raiders went up by a tally of 60-58, it was not Fulwiley who had the go-ahead basket. She got the assist, but it was [player_tooltip player_id="244740" first="Aiyo" last="Price"] who gave Keenan their 59th and 60th points. She scored six points, grabbed four rebounds, went 3-4 from the field and also had a pair of assists of her own. “She’s been making those big shots for us and, of course, MiLaysia made a great basketball play,” McLain said. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4257-scaled-crop-1539x1011-1646485479.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-396588" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4257-scaled-crop-1539x1011-1646485479-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="185722" first="Ashari" last="Lewis"], in her final game sporting Raiders gold and navy blue, had six points in addition to nine rebounds. Seven of those boards came on the offensive glass and she also collected a pair of steals. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4183-scaled-crop-2252x1479-1646485564.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-396590" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4183-scaled-crop-2252x1479-1646485564-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> Even though the result was not what she wanted, [player_tooltip player_id="171798" first="Joyce" last="Edwards"] did not disappoint on her first occasion in the state championship spotlight. Edwards willed her team with a double-double of 24 points and 14 rebounds in addition to eight blocked shots. Edwards had the first pair of points for the Bulldogs and also hit a 2-pointer which brought both teams all square at 58 late in the fourth quarter. Edwards finishes her sophomore season with 2,105 career points and over 1,000 rebounds. <a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4235-scaled-crop-1455x956-1646485653.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-396592" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4235-scaled-crop-1455x956-1646485653-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> The Bulldogs also had got a big game from freshman [player_tooltip player_id="175325" first="Morgan" last="Champion"], who concluded her evening with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Champion led Camden’s scoring attack from 3-point land as she splashed home five of her 10 attempts from downtown. The Bulldogs as a team made seven triples. Closing the Book Keenan’s third consecutive championship also saw the Raiders finish 24-3 with an 8-0 record in Region 4-AAA. Camden’s season ends at 21-7 along with going 9-0 in its Region 6-AAA. The Lady Raiders have won 4 of the last 5 State Championships in Class 3A. So Long, Seniors McLain’s Raiders are only losing two seniors from this year’s version – Lewis and [player_tooltip player_id="216961" first="Jailyn" last="Oree"]. Jeffcoat-Norris’ Bulldogs are not graduating any seniors and given how Camden suffered defeat this time, it may make the team even more dangerous in 2022-23 with an unfinished business mindset.