Published: May 25, 2008 12:40 am         

Alco girls voted unanimous area champs

CUMBERLAND — The Allegany Campers, who grabbed the No. 1 ranking at midseason and refused to let it go, won the Cumberland Times-News girls basketball Area championship by a unanimous vote, putting the finishing touches on one of the more successful seasons in the program’s history.

Coach Jim O’Neal’s Campers finished 24-3 in a season that included five championships. In addition to the Area championship, they also won the Cumberland City League, the first Appalachian Mountain Athletic Conference, the Maryland Class 1A West Section and the Class 1A West Region.

The season, which included a 14-game winning streak, ended at the state tournament. Allegany beat Surrattsville 61-53 in the semifinals before falling to Pocomoke in the championship game 66-53.

The Area championship is the second for Allegany, and first outright. The Campers were Area co-champions with Hampshire in 1999.

The Area championship trophy, sponsored by the LaVale Wal-Mart SuperCenter, will be presented to the Campers at an early-season home game next year.

“There were two keys to our success. One was we had nine very talented basketball players that love to play the game,’’ said O’Neal. “The second was their ability to realize the amount of work that they would need to put in to be successful. We spend a lot of time in the gym during the season and the girls never complained.”

Much was expected of this year’s team, and it delivered.

Junior guard DeTonia DeGross and junior forward Jenna Mathews were first-team All-AMAC and All-City. Katie Getty and Elizabeth Getty, the team’s only seniors, were also first-team All-City.

DeGross led a balanced attack with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals per game. Mathews averaged 10 points and seven rebounds, and Brianna Twigg 10 points, three assists and two steals. All three return next season.

The 24 wins this year tied the 1999 team for second all-time in single-season wins at Allegany. The 2000 state championship team was 25-2.

The 24 wins is also the most of any area champion. Petersburg (2005), Pendleton (2003), Southern (2002) and Allegany (1999) also won area titles during 24-win seasons.

“We had high expectations coming into the season. We lost only one player to graduation and were coming off an 18-win season that included the City and Western Maryland Interscholastic League championships,’’ said O’Neal. “The kids built off of that success, had a great offseason and felt very confident coming into this year.”

Allegany, No. 3 in last year’s final poll, is 42-9 the last two seasons. The Campers won this year’s AMAC with an 11-1 record, and own a 10-game City League winning streak, having won or shared the last three titles.

This year, the Campers were No. 1 in the year’s first poll, then dropped to No. 2 behind Northern after their only loss to a local team, a 43-36 setback at Northern. The Campers regained the No. 1 spot a week later after the Huskies lost to Frankfort, and reeled off the 14-game streak which included a 74-58 win over Northern and a 64-50 victory over Southern in the sectional playoffs.

“This group of kids was truly a team. They were never concerned about who had the best stats or who got the most playing time,’’ O’Neal said. “All they wanted to do was win. I credit my upperclassmen — Katie Getty, Elizabeth Getty, Jenna Mathews, Brianna Twigg and DeTonia DeGross — for building great team chemistry.

“This was a special season at Allegany. We were successful, the kids worked hard, the parents supported all the kids, and they were able to have a lot of fun while they were together. Our coaching staff really enjoyed working with this group of kids.”

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