[Stardust]

Taylor Robinson’s layup with 3:20 to play in the fourth quarter gave Campbell County the lead for good in a back-and-forth battle with neighborhood rival Brossart Friday night. The Camels held on for a 47-42 upset win in the girls’ 37th District final at Campbell County Middle School.

Robinson was named tournament Most Valuable player and it was the third straight 37th District title for Campbell County.

“It feels great,” Robinson said. “Not just winning MVP, but winning overall.”

The Camels (14-16) won their sixth straight overall and have won seven of eight after a slow start to the season. Brossart was ranked No. 7 in the final Enquirer Northern Kentucky area coaches’ poll. Campbell County was unranked.

Friday’s win avenged a 55-40 loss to the Mustangs Jan. 4 at Campbell County.
“We obviously started off a little rough in the beginning of the season, but that means nothing,” Robinson said. “It’s what happens at the end of the year.”

Neither team had control of Friday’s game for an extended period of time in the second half. The lead changed hands 12 times and there were six ties during the final two quarters.

“We didn’t execute offensively down the stretch,” Brossart coach Josh Feldman said. “Defensively, we didn’t do a bad job. They scored five baskets in the second half. We gave up too many free throws. (Junior center) Sarah Futscher was playing well and we lost sight of her at times. We didn’t make plays and they made more plays than we did. We missed three layups down the stretch, three of them point-blank that could have cut the lead.”

Robinson’s go-ahead layup made the score 42-41 and accounted for the sixth and final lead change in the fourth quarter. She followed that with another layup for a 44-41 lead.

“Please go in, please go in,” Robinson said. “That’s all I could think. It wasn’t just my points. It’s everyone on this team. I’m so proud of everyone.”

Brossart senior Rachel Hartig made it 44-42 with a free throw, but Robinson, junior guard Carson Gray and senior guard Molly Kitchen each made a free throw in the final minute to seal the win.

“The biggest thing for us is we’re finally healthy,” Campbell County coach Michael Murray said. “Taylor Robinson played most of the season with a broken nose and wearing a facemask. She’s had that off for about three weeks now. We’re finally in the last couple weeks healthy.

“The kids have believed, even though we struggled throughout the year. If they just stuck with it, once everybody was healthy and well, we had a chance to make another run.”

The Camels had to play most of the second half without leading scorer Kaitlin Siegmundt. The senior center was called for her fourth foul three minutes into the third quarter and finished with five points – all from free throws.

“It was a huge testament to our backup post players,” Murray said. “Paige Painter was huge guarding Sarah Futscher tonight. Sarah is a great player and she was able to do a lot of things. But Paige made it hard on her.”

Futscher led the Mustangs with 17 points.

Both teams will play in the 10th Region tournament next week at Nicholas County.
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