SAN MARCOS — Eight times in the first half of a game against Southwestern College on Friday, February 3, 2023, Camille Sroufe toed up to the 3-point line, shot, and scored.
The college record—set by Julie Saelee in early 2020—was nine 3-pointers in a single game, and Sroufe knew she only had two more to make to inscribe her name in the Palomar College record books.
At the end of the game, she had 30 points to her name—all 3-pointers, a record-setting 10 in two halves of basketball.
“Eight for 10 in the first half—I knew I was going to break the record at that point. But I missed the most shots trying to get that 10th shot, because I knew I only needed that one more,” recalled Sroufe, who is 20 years old. “I was rushing shots that I probably would have swung in the first half.”
She added: “My first game against Southwestern I shot 5 for 19, so I knew I had to come back from that.”
It was a 103-58 win over Southwestern College—one of the many games that the unstoppable Comets squad has made to look easy this season. The team remained undefeated, 27-0, as of Thursday, February 16.
Sroufe is a shooting guard who graduated in 2021 from El Camino High School, where she played varsity basketball all four years and was recruited in her senior season by Palomar’s Head Coach, Leigh Marshall.
“Camille is a worker—she gets in the gym on her own time and really hones her craft,” said Marshall. “She’s constantly pushing herself to be better—better in the weight room, a better teammate, a better shooter. It’s not a surprise that she is seeing the success she is, because she’s someone that has really worked at it!”
In the classroom, Sroufe is studying Psychology at Palomar with hopes to transfer and keep playing basketball next winter. She comes to her athleticism naturally: “Everybody in my family plays sports,” she said.
So what’s it like to play on a team poised to roll into the playoffs without having lost a game?
“We still have a lot of growing to do, and eventually we’re going to have to play some harder teams,” she said. “I think we’re just trying to get better as a team, rather than focus on the competition.”
Sroufe said that in high school she only shot two or three 3-pointers per game, but started practicing more when she came to Palomar.
During her record-breaking game, “They just kept coming to me. I was wide open on a few and so I knew I had to make them. I was just feeling confident every time I shot the ball.”
There were no short shots or free throws: 30 points total, and all 3-pointers. Her grandparents and cousins were in the Dome for the game.
“Palomar made it possible to learn and grow as an athlete,” said Sroufe. “I’ve made a lot of connections to my teammates and coaches, and it’s been a really good experience. Lots of opportunities to play and improve as an individual.”