TUMWATER — Tumwater junior Kylie Waltermeyer scored a game-high 20 points and Tumwater engineered a second-half comeback to topple Class 4A Camas 54-51 during a non-league home game on Monday.
The Thunderbirds have now beaten what might be the top-two 4A teams in the state after also defeating perennial powerhouse Woodinville on Dec. 2.
“It definitely feels good to beat a team of Camas’ caliber,” Tumwater coach Robin Johnson said. “It gave us an opportunity to focus on what we need to work on as we move to the final stages of the regular season.”
Johnson pointed to handling pressure as one of the areas the T-Birds still need to improve on as they struggled to overcome the Papermakers’ frantic full-court pressure in the first half.
The Papermakers used their pressure defense to jump out to a 19-11 lead in the first quarter and a 28-25 advantage at the break. But the Thunderbirds hung in it, mainly due to some key offensive rebounding, including off missed free throws.
After a 14-14 third quarter, the Thunderbirds outscored the Papermakers 14-9 in the final frame to complete the comeback and secure the victory.
“They play a pressure, fast-paced defense and I thought we would handle it better,” Johnson said. “That led to a lot of missed shots, but our effort kept us in it.”
Natalie Sumrok added 12 points for the T-Birds, while Isabella Lund finished with 11 and Aubrey Amendala contributed eight.
“Kylie kept her head all game and didn’t panic,” Johnson said. “Regan Brewer had crazy defensive energy and had some huge boards toward the end of the game.”
Camas was led by Ava Smith’s 17 points.
Tumwater improves to 10-1 overall, with its only loss coming to Class 4A Mount Si. The Thunderbirds next host Shelton on Wednesday in a 2A Evergreen Conference matchup.
