No. 8 Lakewood girls hoops leaning on Camilla Emsbo
LAKEWOOD — Lakewood girls basketball coach Chris Poisson has been joking with 6-foot-4 junior Camilla Emsbo about how bad her back hurts.
“We are on it. She is carrying us on her back,” Poisson said after Emsbo had 27 points and a dozen rebounds without playing the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon against Arvada West. “It’s a credit to her for being able to do that. She has been tremendous these past few weeks.”
The Tigers were without three key juniors — Kira Emsbo, Hannah Renstrom and Sassy Coleman — during the 70-26 home victory against A-West (5-8, 1-3 Class 5A Jeffco). Kira, Camilla’s twin sister, has missed the Tigers last seven games with an elbow injury.
Camilla has averaged nearly 20 points per game and well over double-digit rebounds with her 6-foot-4 twin out of the lineup.
“I knew it was going to be a challenge. I knew how to step up,” Camilla said. “I’m used to having my wingman (sister Kira) by my side, but it’s not just me stepping up. I think the reason why we are having success is everyone is stepping up.”
Lakewood senior Celeste Barron-Nicolletti and freshman Nadia Trevizo both finished in double-digit points against the Wildcats in the Tigers’ third straight win since dropping their conference opener against Ralston Valley, ranked No. 2 in the current CHSAANow.com 5A girls hoops rankings.
However, Camilla was the focal point single-handedly outscoring A-West — 27-26 — despite not playing in the final quarter.
“I’ve got to say that’s a first,” Emsbo said with a smile.
The No. 8 ranked Tigers (8-4, 3-1) have a tough week ahead facing Pomona and Bear Creek, teams that Poisson believes are the most improved squads in 5A Jeffco this season. He also thinks Renstrom and Coleman will be back on the court next week to give the Tigers a boost heading toward the midway point of the conference schedule.
“The good news about our injuries is they aren’t longterm,” Poisson said. “We know we can have everybody in full swing and at our best in the end still.”
Getting a good amount of playing time to Lakewood’s bench players should help the Tigers in the long run.
“Trust has been built with not only our seniors who have really stepped up and played well, but our freshmen (Trevizo and Aaliyah Sabala) are really playing well and have confidence,” Poisson said.
The hope is Kira will be back on the court in a couple of weeks, in time for the rematch against league-leading Ralston Valley on Jan. 27.
“I think it’s really important that we are learning to play with the people we have right now,” Camilla said. “We are going to need an adjustment period once those players come back. They are a huge part of our offense.”
