By Jordan Burton
It doesn’t take Mount Vernon’s Cameron Call long to light up a scoreboard.
The 5-foot-8 sophomore averages more than 20 PPG and is one of Missouri’s top guard prospects, holding offers from Wisconsin and George Mason already.
But in Saturday’s Class 3 – District 12 championship it wasn’t just Call that got the Lady Neers going, but classmate Ashlyn McCanless.
The 5-foot-4 guard provided a much needed offensive spark for MV. She scored well-timed 10 points and helped Mount Vernon turn a 15-13 second quarter deficit into a 24-19 halftime lead, guiding the Lady Mountaineers to a 51-41 win and the program’s first district championship since winning the Class 3 state championship in 2012.
“We’ve talked throughout the year about our fortitude and our mental toughness,” said Mount Vernon coach Dusty Killingsworth. “Before the game we talked about how we’ve forged a chain that is very difficult to break. We’ve played 28 games and that’s 28 links in our chain. We’ve been through fire, we’ve been through trials and we’ve been through tribulations. We’ve fought through adversity all year and whatever happened on this floor couldn’t overcome what we’ve gone through and it translated tonight.”
That run coincided with Mount Vernon losing starter Camryn Eldridge to a shoulder injury in the second quarter, forcing the Lady ‘Neers to play without their third-leading scorer.
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“Eldridge got hurt and our girls were really emotional about it,” said Killingsworth. “We had to change plans because a big portion of what we were trying to do was through her. We have some kids Haylee Yeats and Lyndsey Hood that came in and gave us great minutes. Sometimes they don’t know how much they’re going to play so for them to come in and play that kind of role is huge. That toughness is the reason we won the game.”
Mount Vernon was able to extend that lead in the third quarter with Call taking on the bulk of the scoring.
After settling for perimeter jumpers against Lamar’s zone for much of the first half, Call was able to penetrate the gaps in the second half and create scoring opportunities.
She scored nine points in the third quarter alone, nearly matching Lamar’s output single handedly.
“She’s such a smart basketball player that she knew she needed to attack and get the ball into the paint and make some things go her way,” said Killingsworth. “Because of that she became more aggressive on both ends of the floor and her game just blossoms when that happens. She did a lot tonight that a mature player does.”
Lamar received 13 points from junior Katelyn Mooney and 12 points from senior Alyssa Fanning.
Class 3 – District 11 champion Strafford was in attendance scouting its next opponent.
The Lady Indians are the defending Class 3 state champions and have won 45 straight games; their last loss to a Class 3 team came in March of 2015.
Killingsworth and Mount Vernon are excited about the opportunity ahead of them, but they’re going to enjoy being district champions for now.
“I told them to enjoy it tonight and enjoy it tomorrow, but on Monday we are going to get to work,” said Killingsworth. “We’ll need a plan. We would rather those girls that were sitting over there watching didn’t show up, that would help us out, but we know they’re going to come to play and they don’t take anyone lightly. They’re well coached and we’ll try to meet the challenge.”
Mount Vernon 51, Lamar 41
Lamar 10-9-10-12 – 41
Mount Vernon 9-15-16-11 – 51
Lamar (18-10): Mooney 13, Fanning 12, Barlett 9, Beshore 5, Doss 2.
Mount Vernon (23-6): Call 24, McCanless 10, Hicks 8, Keith 4, Yeats 3, Eldridge 2.
