By Josh Perry || HockomockSports.com Managing Editor
LOWELL, Mass. – Norwell went on a run at the end of the first half of Saturday night’s Div. 3 state title game at the Tsongas Center, pulling within nine points at the break. It was as close as anyone had been to Foxboro at halftime in the postseason and the Clippers fans were sensing an upset brewing, but the Warriors had Camryn Collins and she took the game over in the second half to ensure that her stellar four-year varsity career ended on a high note.
After scoring six points in the first quarter, Collins was held scoreless in the second, but the Rider University-commit and two-time Hockomock League MVP exploded for 19 of her game-high 25 in the second half, helping Foxboro cruise to a 66-43 win and a second straight state championship.
“She took over and she wanted the ball,” Foxboro coach Lisa Downs said of Collins’ performance in the second half. “I was calling the plays for her to get it because I could see in her mannerisms that she was going to score. She was a senior out there tonight.”
It was a tough shooting first half for the Warriors, who had rolled into the final with four wins by no fewer than 30 points. Collins came out before the third quarter and slowly worked on her shooting form with a series of short jumpers. Then she started the second half by burying the first one that counted and restoring a double-digit lead that Foxboro never relinquished.
She would scored eight points in the third, getting a couple baskets in transition and a couple of jumpers in half-court sets. Foxboro pushed the lead to 17 heading to the fourth.
Collins continued to be aggressive in the final quarter. She sank two at the line then showed off a wicked crossover, shedding her defender, and swishing the pull-up jumper. After stepping into a three from the left wing, Collins snatched an offensive rebound and powered it back in for two more and added one last bucket on the break, finishing with 11 in the fourth.
“In the most humble way, yeah,” Collins said with a smile when she was asked after the game if she picks spots to take over. “I think at some point I know my strengths and my defender’s weaknesses and I just have to attack it. I always end up doing it in the second half, don’t know how that happens.”
This is the end of a remarkable career that began with her debut as a freshman during the Covid-shortened 2021 season. She only got 10 games that year to show flashes of the talent that would lead her to back-to-back league MVPs.
Classmate Erin Foley, who was also a freshman starter that year, noted, “Every single time we got on the court, we were so nervous. Our freshman year there were big expectations with Coach Lisa and as we grew with her and with the older girls taking us under their wings we were just so used to this and we came to play every night.”
“We really evolved as players and our confidence was there every night.”
Foley has been a teammate of Collins since winning fourth grade titles at Mass Premier Courts, so going through four seasons of high school competition and closing out their careers together as champions has added meaning.
“Having Cam on the team means everything because as the clock’s winding down, we have 10 seconds on the shot clock, we hand the ball to her,” Foley said. “We know she’s going to get the job done. Awesome being on the same team as her, I would not want to go against her that’s for sure.”
In addition to her scoring (a league-best 21.9 point per game during the regular season), Collins is also a lockdown defender. She had four steals on Saturday, guarding Norwell junior Maddie Oliver (15 points, including the 1,000th of her career). Despite Oliver’s size advantage, Collins was able to make things difficult for her in the post and challenge shots on the perimeter.
“The standard is always defense and showing effort throughout every quarter,” Collins said. “We might not start off the game making shots, but as long as we stay on defense anything can happen.”
Downs was asked what Collins, who eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for her career, meant to the Foxboro program and how hard it will be to replace her next year.
“Those are some big, humungous footsteps to fill,” she said. “It’s going to have to be several people stepping into that role because she just brings the athleticism that I’ve never had before. Whether she’s scoring two points, it doesn’t matter really, she just does the intangibles out there that not many coaches can say they have.”
With her teammates back on the Tsongas Center court to greet their friends and families before starting the trip back to Foxboro, Collins was asked to reflect on what it means to be able to spend the final moments of her high school career as a state champion.
“It’s so rare for somebody to have something like this, so I just feel really grateful,” she said. “We worked really hard to get here. I’m really proud.”
Foxboro (24-2) was grateful too. It was an MVP performance from Collins in the second half that turned what might have been an anxiety-riddled 16 minutes into a coronation for one of the best teams in the state.