Published: March 06, 2008 10:49 am         

Alco beats Southern

DeGross, Getty lead way in 64-50 win; Campers capture section title

CUMBERLAND - DeTonia DeGross scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half and led an aggressive team performance that carried top-seeded Allegany past second-seeded Southern, 64-50, for the Class 1A West Region, West Section championship Wednesday night at Campobello.

With their 10th straight win, the Campers (22-2) earned a spot in the West Region championship game, against Poolesville (19-5) on Saturday, at 3 p.m., at Frostburg State University. Poolesville beat Williamsport 48-35 in the East Section final last night.

Saturday's winner is the West Region champion and advances to the state tournament.

To get a shot at a spot in the state tournament, the Campers had to beat the defending state champs last night. They were able to do it with an offense that featured four double-figure scorers and a defense that allowed five points in the first quarter and one field goal over the first 12 minutes.

"I think we played great defense, especially against their screen and roll,'' said Allegany coach Jim O'Neal. "Southern is so good at that, and we started working on defending that screen and roll on Nov. 16. We were able to put pretty good pressure on their guards.

"Southern plays great man-to-man defense, and a key for us offensively was our ability to break down their guards and get into the lane, where we either hit the shot or were in good position for rebounds against their interior defense."

Point guard DeGross and forward Katie Getty had double-doubles for the Campers, with DeGross getting 15 points and 10 rebounds and Getty 10 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. Brianna Twigg was 6-for-6 from the foul line and added 13 points, while Jenna Mathews had 11 points and four steals. Elizabeth Getty had eight rebounds.

Shayna Sweitzer led all scorers with 21 points for Southern (18-5). Kerry Conroy had nine points and Torie Bosley eight. Brittany Boyce had a team-high eight rebounds.

Allegany, which won the regular-season meetings 55-44 and 58-39, never trailed and grabbed the lead in the opening seconds when Twigg hit a three-point shot.

Southern's first field goal didn't come until Sweitzer scored in the lane in the final minute of the period, and the Rams trailed 18-6 after two Katie Getty foul shots with 4:27 left in the half.

Torie Bosley broke the ice for Southern with a three-pointer midway through the second quarter, and the Rams, held to six points over the first 12 minutes, scored 14 over the final four and trailed by only 25-20 at the half, despite Boyce missing most of the quarter with three fouls.

"We came back and were down by only 25-20 at halftime, but the big difference was rebounding,'' said Southern coach Danny Bosley. "They got two and three shots at times. That's something we said couldn't give up and they got them when they needed them."

DeGross began her big second half by stealing the opening inbounds pass and driving for a layup. Seven Campers scored in the quarter, with a Kelly Baker follow shot giving the Campers a 42-30 lead going into the fourth.

The Rams were never able to get the margin into single figures but stayed within striking distance behind the steady play of Sweitzer who, with some nifty pivot moves inside, had a pair of three-point plays in the third quarter and 16 points in the second half.

But it wasn't enough, and DeGross scored nine fourth-quarter points. She finished 9-for-12 from the foul line and the Campers, as a team, were 23-for-32.

"DeTonia is able to dominate at both ends of the court,'' said O'Neal, "on defense with her ball pressure, and on offense as our point guard by making all her teammates better. She scores when we need her to score, and makes the passes whenever they are needed."

Southern, which opened the year with seven straight wins, had a six-game win streak snapped.

"We've had a very good season ... 18-5 is nothing to be ashamed of,'' said Bosley. "Three of those five came to a very good Allegany team."

Contact Mike Mathews at mmathews@times-news.com.