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Camden, Claytor Take Part In SVU’s Remarkable Season
Following their outstanding basketball careers for Parry McCluer High School, Emma Camden and Anna Claytor have enjoyed teaming up to help the Southern Virginia University women’s basketball team have one of its most successful seasons in program history.
Both players helped the Knights go 22-7 overall and 17-1 in the USA South Athletic Conference, winning their second conference title in three years. During one stretch during the regular season, the Knights won 12 consecutive games.
Camden, a 2019 PM graduate, wrapped up her college career on Friday night when the Knights lost to No. 15 DeSales University in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament in Center Valley, Pa. The 5-foot-7-inch senior guard, who wears No. 10 for SVU after wearing No. 21 for PM, helped PM win its second and third consecutive Class 1 state titles in 2018 and 2019 after transferring from Rockbridge County High School prior to her junior year. On Friday, Camden played 13 minutes, contributing four points, five rebounds and an assist.
Claytor, who graduated from PM last year after scoring 1,174 points during her high school career and helped the Blues make the state semifinals during her junior year, is a 6-foot freshman forward who wears No. 20 for SVU after wearing No. 11 for PM. Although Claytor didn’t see a lot of playing time this year, fifth-year SVU head coach Lynette Schroeder is confident she’ll develop at the collegiate level.
“Anna has such great length, and she has a knack for rebounding the ball,” said Schroeder. “She is just transitioning into the college level and the speed, and she’s done a really good job of learning and growing and understanding the game at the next level.”
When Claytor decided she wanted to play for SVU, Schroeder said, “We were excited that she wanted to be part of that, and we were better off for it.”
Camden walked on to the SVU team as a freshman, and the SVU coaches started recruiting Claytor during her junior year at PM.
During the conference championship game, which the Knights won 69-41 over North Carolina Wesleyan in front of a spirited home crowd on Feb. 24 at Knight Arena in Buena Vista, Camden played 17 minutes and contributed one point, two rebounds, an assist and a steal. Claytor got in the game for the final two minutes and grabbed three rebounds.
After the game, both players joined their teammates and coaches in cutting down the net before reflecting on the meaning of winning the title. It was the second conference title for Camden, who helped SVU win its first conference title in program history two years ago.
“It’s bittersweet being a senior and playing my last game in The Barn, but no better game to go out on, with a championship,” said Camden. “I just love SVU so much and this program. The team we had this year was great, and the coaching staff. It’s just a great feeling.”
Claytor said this season has been “pretty amazing. It’s a lot different than high school, but it’s so great to be part of the team.”
Last month, Camden received a special honor, as the USA South Athletic Conference awarded her All-Sportsmanship recognition. She was lauded for her invaluable role as a vocal leader and exemplar of sportsmanship throughout the season. “Getting All-Sportsmanship was really cool,” said Camden. “I think we all take pride in being good teammates and opponents to everyone we play, whether that is helping them when they fall or just being respectful during and after the game. It’s more than a game to me, so I’m glad I could be a good example of what SVU stands for.”
Since Claytor was in eighth grade when Camden was a senior at PM, they weren’t teammates in high school, but they were both glad to be teammates at SVU this year. “It was cool,” said Camden. “It was just kind of crazy. It made me feel a little old, I guess. I like having townies come out to watch the games. It brought out more people that I knew. I like playing with her.”
Claytor said that, during her time at SVU, she’s had helpful guidance from Camden and sophomore center Ruth Kempler, and she’s learned her role. “I’m here to get better and to help others get better,” said Claytor.
In practice, Claytor works mostly with assistant coach Brett Schroeder. “We have these shooting sessions,” she said. “He really helps us with post moves, and he helps us with speed.”
Among those watching the Knights in the conference finals were some of their former teammates and good friends from PM. Camden’s parents, Mike and Emma, are regulars. Claytor’s parents, Cory and Carrie, have been to every game, and her grandparents also come to watch often.
Camden is one of four children in her family, while Claytor is the youngest of three. Claytor’s older sister, Katie, is a sophomore softball player for SVU. As a first baseman, Katie was named to the all-conference first team last year. The older Claytor sister, a 2022 PM graduate, was also a basketball player in high school, and she was a freshman on the Blues’ 2019 state championship team. She’s served as an assistant coach for the PM girls basketball team for the past two winters.
Camden and the Claytor sisters all played for Adam Gilbert, who continues to serve as PM’s head girls basketball coach. Even with their busy schedules, both Camden and Anna Claytor get back to watch the continued success of the Blues occasionally, and they both said playing for the Blues prepared them well for playing for SVU.
Gilbert recalled the impact both players made during their time at PM. “Both Emma and Anna made their marks on the girls basketball program at PM,” he said. “Emma was an intricate part of two of the state championships that we won. In particular, her senior season, she played some of the best basketball she played at PM during our region and state tournaments. I go back to our regional semifinal game at home against George Wythe. We were down late in the fourth quarter, until Emma hit a huge three from the corner to give us the lead for good. From that point forward, Emma just took off. She played really well in the state tournament for us that year.”
The PM coach said Anna Claytor “had a great career for us. She was a huge part of our success the last four seasons. She was a really solid player for us.”
Both Camden and Claytor are majoring in family and human development at SVU. Following her graduation this spring, Camden isn’t sure what the future holds, but she’d like it to involve basketball. “I really want to coach, actually,” she said. “I can’t get away from basketball, honestly.”
