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By: Kate Harman
When was it that Lauren Ross realized just how dangerous a combination she and Anna Camden could be on the basketball court for Shipley?
The answer may surprise you.
“It may not seem like it would be at first,” Ross explained, “but I really think it’s when I knew.”
It was last season, when the two were just sophomores, and not quite clicking yet. In fact, the team wasn’t clicking either. After all, it was just the eighth game of the year and the Gators (10-3) were young.
During a game against West Catholic, Ross dropped 39 points, while Camden only had four.
That wasn’t the moment Ross outlined, though. The moment happened afterwards, when the 6-foot-2 forward went up to the 5-foot-8 guard and said great game, assuring her teammate that she had her back next game.
And she did. Camden scored 31 points that next week, carrying the team that day.
So, why this instance? Why is it something that has stuck with Ross more than a year later?
“I knew from that moment on,” Ross said. “That maybe we both wouldn’t always be rolling, or on all cylinders but that we’d no doubt be able to rely on each other in the future. That maybe some games I got her, but she’s got me the next game.”
After all, there’s a reason Ross’ mom, Michelle, has called them the “dynamic duo” since freshman year.
Through 13 games this year the co-captains sure have been running on all cylinders, as Camden is averaging 18 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks a contest, with Ross putting up 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
How does it work so well?
“A little bit of yin and yang,” coach Sean Costello joked.
“Their growth over the summer was tremendous – as leaders, as friends, as teammates,” Costello continued. “It goes a long way when you know how to get someone else a shot or you know what someone else wants to do. They’ve gotten a lot stronger in that sense.”
Yin and yang agree.
“It works beautifully,” Camden said. “There’s not a ton that is similar about our games. We take care of what each of us is best at. That pretty much covers it all. Our games complement each other. I know her game, she knows mine. We play with each other’s strengths and weaknesses which works well on the court.”
“I think we are both really strong willed, have strong personalities,” Ross said. “This made our friendship better. If we were the same, had same personality and then hung out 24/7 it would not work at all.
“She’s helped me a lot,” the St. Joseph’s recruit continued. “Basketball is the longest season and you get frustrated. You can go from a great game and then have a really bad game. To have someone who knows exactly what that is like, that you can text to say ‘Yo, I had a bad game and need to get picked up’ - it’s really nice to have that.”
While Camden and Ross were always both dynamic on the floor independently of one another, it took some time for them to gel at Shipley. As freshmen, the pair immediately got thrown into a starting lineup with three seniors and high expectations, as the squad was coming off a state title win. Each took turns thriving, but chemistry took longer to develop.
It didn’t immediately click last season either, but as their off the court relationship started to flourish, so did their relationship on it.
“I definitely think as the season went on the basket got bigger for the both of us,” Ross said. “It’s exactly what we needed. It sure made things a lot easier for the both of us.”
A lot easier for Shipley too.
The tandem got hot at the right time, propelling the Gators to a Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) championship – the program’s fourth since 2012.
Together they’ve got their sights set on another one – two would be ideal – but first a Friends League title, something they’ve yet to acquire.
“It’s so exciting – crazy – and I think about this all the time, Camden said of their time left in a Shipley uniform. “When we were freshmen it was, ‘Oh they are just freshmen’ and then, ‘Oh they are just sophomores’ but nobody says that about juniors. These next two years are really the time for us to make our final marks, statements. I think we can really do big things as a program. We are definitely on the same page with that.”
This past Sunday, Ross didn’t play due to a day-to-day injury, but during the halftime shootaround she called over freshman Sanaa Redmond and demonstrated what the young standout should do on offense. She motioned to different areas of the court and Redmond intently listened.
On the court that same game, Camden repeatedly called out instructions to help out her teammates, pointed defensive switches out, and facilitated the Shipley offense.
Sometimes, they even gestured to the same space on the floor simultaneously.
Sure, the “dynamic duo” may be yin and yang, but they are also running on all cylinders.
That, makes them a dangerous combination.
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