Mike Mathews
FREDERICK — Neither a slow start, nor foul trouble nor even a broken nose could stop the Allegany girls basketball team.
The Campers, like the U.S. Postal Service likes to claim, deliver, and Saturday’s 22nd straight victory sent them back to the Class 1A state tournament.
Jenna Mathews scored 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds despite breaking her nose in the third quarter, Leah Wormack had 11 points despite being saddled by foul trouble, and DeTonia DeGross was her typical self, doing plenty of everything as the Campers routed Poolesville, 56-29, to complete a West Region basketball sweep by Allegany.
The Campers (22-2), state runners-up a year ago, will play in Friday’s 9 p.m. state semifinal at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, against the winner of last night’s North Region final between Digital Harbor and Dunbar.
DeGross had nine points, seven assists, six rebounds and five steals, and Kelly Baker finished with nine points and nine rebounds for the Campers, now 46-5 the last two seasons.
For a while Poolesville (16-10) appeared it would pose a serious threat to Allegany’s win streak and state plans.
The Campers led by only 6-5 after the first quarter, and it was 9-9 midway through the second.
But in a little more than a two-minute span and with Wormack on the bench with two fouls, Mathews scored six straight points on a jumper, two foul shots and a fast break layup. When Baker swished a three-pointer, the Campers were back in gear and up 18-9.
They led 20-13 at the half.
“Poolesville’s defense in the first half was outstanding,’’ said Allegany coach Jim O’Neal. “They tested our patience. Our defensive pressure near the end of the second quarter was a big key. I thought they looked a little tired and frustrated.
“In the second half we continued our pressure on defense and were more patient on offense. I thought the girls were flawless in the second half attacking the weak side with skip passes. We got a lot of good looks off that.”
The defensive pressure, led in the backcourt by DeGross, helped move a seven-point halftime game into a second-half blowout.
Wormack and DeGross had buckets and Brianna Twigg two foul shots to push the lead to 27-15 early in the second half, as Allegany scored 14 of the first 18 points of the third period.
When Bailey Ellsworth scored off an inbounds play at the end of the quarter, the lead was 40-20.
The largest lead was 51-25, after a foul shot by Wormack, with 3:26 to play.
Mathews left less than two minutes into the second half with a bloody, broken nose, but returned later in the quarter and had four points and five rebounds in a gutsy second-half performance.
“It hurt pretty bad (at the time), and a little bit when I went back in,’’ said Mathews. “But I wasn’t worried because Bailey (Ellsworth) played well and is prepared to go in at any time. When I went back in I wanted to go in and attack.
“We’ve worked so hard all year for this. Coach had us prepared, and we came out ready to play.”
Wormack, a dominant 6-foot-1 sophomore, saw a lot of the game from the bench in foul trouble. But she wasn’t worried, either.
“I wasn’t worried because there are no subs on our team. Every one of our players could be a first-team player on a lot of other teams,’’ said Wormack. Rebekah Wormack and Jade Washington turned in quality minutes off the bench in the post.
Baker agreed.
“During practice we all work as hard as we can, and we switch a lot so we’re all used to playing with each other,’’ she said. “I missed Leah not being in there, but I knew others could get the job done.”
Jessica Chittenden had 11 points, nine coming from the foul line, and six rebounds for Poolesville, which shot just 7-for-34 from the field.
It was the seventh time this year the Campers allowed 30 or fewer points.
Mike Mathews is a Cumberland Times-News sportswriter. Contact Mike Mathews at mmathews@times-news.com.
