Camas basketball players Sophie Buzzard, Baylie Farra, and Eliana Gibson were instrumental in Wednesday’s win over rival Union. Photo by Paul Valencia

Two great teams, in the same league, with passionate fan bases remind this reporter of the Prairie-Skyview clashes in the 2000s, and girls basketball is so much greater with these rivalries

Paul Valencia
ClarkCountyToday.com

Yes, it was a semifinal of a large postseason tournament, but Wednesday’s game was not a do-or-die sports situation.

Both teams had already qualified for the state tournament before the matchup. Win or lose, both teams will have bigger games in the following weeks.

Wednesday’s game was not going to change the league title that Union won earlier this season.

Wednesday’s game was not going to take away from the fact that Camas remains the defending state champion.

Still, it meant plenty for these two talented programs, playing on a neutral floor in Battle Ground in the Class 4A bi-district semifinals.

It meant something to the players competing.

It certainly meant a lot to Camas sophomore Eliana Gibson, who buried the biggest 3-pointer of her young career to put a halt to Union’s momentum early in the fourth quarter.

Then there was Baylie Farra, a junior, with another huge shot to push Camas’ lead back to double digits a couple minutes later.

Camas senior Sophie Buzzard put on one of the best defensive performances in ages, slowing down Union’s top scorer.

And then there was senior Keirra Thompson, who was 4 for 5 from 3-point land. On one of those shots, she left her perfect follow through with her shooting hand, hanging there for an extra second, in front of the Union student section.

Oh, yes, this mattered to the fans of the two programs, as well.

And also it mattered to a former coach who helped grow the game of girls basketball in Southwest Washington.

For the fourth time this season, Union and Camas played each other, and the two teams are now 2-2.

It wasn’t the biggest crowd of this rivalry. Tough to get fans out for a Wednesday night at a neutral site for a game that was not on the regular schedule.

But still, a big enough crowd.

This rivalry, especially this year, reminded this old journalist, and one older coach, of some incredible moments from almost 20 years ago.

Camas vs. Union today is the Prairie vs. Skyview from the 2000s.

In 2008, Prairie and Skyview played for the third time that season for the district championship. The bleachers at the gym at Heritage High School were full for the entire game, and then there were more people arrivin late in order to watch the boys championship game that was to follow.

The girls game went into double overtime. And while I do not know the exact crowd numbers, I would guess that those last minutes of regulation and the overtimes were played in front of the biggest crowd for a girls basketball game that I have ever attended in Clark County.

Earlier that year, the two teams played epic matchups in the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League. (Prairie would eventually move to 3A, but back then, the two best girls basketball programs in the area played in the same league.)

These were the matchups that the community were talking about back then.

Former Prairie girls basketball coach Al Aldridge was in attendance Wednesday night to watch the Camas-Union rivalry. He, too, was reminded of the great rivalries of the 1990s and 2000s. Photo by Paul Valencia

“Everybody loves a winner, you know. We built a following with our success,” former Prairie coach Al Aldridge said Wednesday. “When people got good enough to challenge us, it got contagious.”

Skyview was, indeed, a challenge.

“Their fans jumped on the bandwagon,” Aldridge said. “That’s when it grew. It was pretty special.”

Aldridge said he loved his rivalry with then Skyview coach Steve Hook.

“Ego wise, it was me vs. Steve. We were friends. But on the basketball court, we were bitter rivals. It just made it real intense, real fun,” Aldridge said. “He wanted to beat me so bad, I mean so bad.”

Prairie won all those games that year and ended up reaching the state final four before finishing third in the Tacoma Dome. Skyview, meanwhile, also earned a trophy at state that year, finishing fifth.

Hook’s Storm would never beat Aldridge’s Falcons.

Years later, after Hook resigned and a new coach took over, Skyview did beat Prairie, but in a non-league matchup. In 2012, in fact, Skyview (4A) and Prairie (3A) won state championships on the same day, on the same court.

Of course, that can’t happen this year with this rivalry. Camas and Union are in the same classification. One will finish higher than the other.

Together, though, they unite the basketball community, with brilliant, passionate play.

“It was really fun beating them, but it’s the behind-the-scenes stuff,” Gibson said of her favorite aspect of this rivalry.

Camas beat Union in a close game in the first of three regular-season contests. Union dominated in the last two to win the league title. So the Papermakers went to work.

“We love doing it,” Gibson said of practice. “We love the grind.”

“After that last game, we really got to work. That one hit us deep,” Farra said, referring to when Camas had to watch Union celebrate the league championship. “We focused a lot on defense. We put all our effort on the court.”

Buzzard scored 12 points Wednesday but it is her defense that starred in this one.

“It was super fun to play them again, maybe for the last time,” the senior said. “The whole town comes to the Union versus Camas games. Our team really stepped up.”

Camas scored the final eight points of the first quarter and the first six points of the second quarter for a 14-point run to give the Papermakers a double-digit lead. Lauren Hood had 18 of her 20 points in the first half.

Union’s Janessa Chatman went 5 for 7 from the floor, keeping her team within striking distance, scoring 14 points. Brooklynn Haywood had 19 points for the Titans. Her 3-pointer at the third-quarter horn pulled Union to within nine.

The Titans got to within six in the fourth quarter, but Thompson hit a killer 3-pointer for the Papermakers.

Players from both teams are sure to remember these nights, even 20 years from now, when they inspired Clark County sports fans.

“Hey, how did Camas do last night?”

“Oh, did you hear about Union’s game last night?”

That is what it was like in the 2000s with Skyview and Prairie. And in the 1990s, Battle Ground and Prairie had some legendary battles.

“Those were great times,” Aldridge said. “Those were great times.”

The teams have changed, but the times are still great for girls basketball in Southwest Washington. Columbia River and Woodland had quite the battle for the 2A GSHL this season, Mountain View and Evergreen had some big moments in 3A. Seton Catholic is ruling the region in 1A this year.

Leading the way, as far as atmosphere and the stakes: Camas, the defending state champion and a program with eight consecutive state tournament appearances, and Union, the new 4A GSHL champion and a team ranked by many in the top five in state.

Oh, and this rivalry might not be done this season.

Camas will next play in the bi-district championship game Saturday night. Soon after, seedings for the state tournament’s opening round matchups will be determined. If Camas and Union get the 4- and 5-seeds or 6- and 3-seeds, for example, they would play each other again, most likely at Battle Ground High School again.

And there is a shot they could face each other in the Tacoma Dome, as well.

“We live for these games,” Thompson said. “I would love to see them again. Let’s go. Run it back.”

Note: Paul Valencia is a reporter for Clark County Today who has covered sports in Clark County since 2001.