CUMBERLAND — Allegany battled Berlin (Pa.) Brothersvalley for three quarters, but the Mountaineers caught fire in the fourth.
The Campers ended the third period on an 8-0 run to trail 41-37. That’s when the Mountaineers turned up their pressure, and Riley Lauer sunk three straight 3-pointers as part of a 21-4 onslaught.
On the night when Avery Miller was honored for scoring 1,000 career points, No. 4 Allegany battled behind the junior’s game-high 28 points, but Berlin was too much in a 68-47 win Monday.
“We came out of a timeout, we knew the defense they were going to,” Allegany head coach Jim O’Neal said of the fourth quarter. “We talked about the pressure they were going to use, and a couple possessions there we didn’t get in our press break. Cost us a couple easy baskets.
“Then, out of our zone, we left their second best shooter open and she buried one. That really hurt us. Then we had to chase them the rest of the time, and that didn’t work out.”
The loss is the third in a row for Allegany (7-7) against stiff competition, falling to No. 1 Southern, 60-56, and No. 2 Mountain Ridge, 50-48, last week.
At one point in the third quarter, however, the Campers had Berlin (14-4) — which defeated the Miners, 62-43, on Friday — scrambling.
Berlin standout freshman Coral Prosser, who already holds Division 1 offers from Delaware and Iona, went to the bench after picking up a third foul late in the third quarter, and Allegany took advantage.
The Campers trimmed a 12-point deficit down to four entering the decider.
“We put in too much time and work to do it any way,” O’Neal said of the comeback. “I knew they would battle and they would compete because that’s the kind of kids they are. We just talked about that. We had it in striking distance there in the fourth and didn’t take advantage of it.”
Miller was honored for scoring 1,000 points after making the first basket of the game. She entered Monday’s contest with 1,006 points after crossing the threshold against Southern last Thursday.
She’s just the third junior along with Taya Sloan and Tracey Little to score 1,000 points for Allegany. Little is the all-time leading scorer in program history with 1,803 points.
Miller is the 10th girl to score 1,000 and the 19th overall at Allegany.
She was a one-player wrecking crew through two-and-a-half quarters, scoring 18 first-half points and 26 of Allegany’s first 33.
Shylah Taylor and Ella Shade got in on the action on the tail end of the third-quarter run with a pair of free throws each.
The physicality of the game — Berlin was called for 21 fouls compared to Allegany’s nine — eventually took a toll on Miller, and the junior scored just two points during the fourth quarter.
Berlin dominated the fourth, 27-10, and the Campers cleared their bench trailing 68-45 with 1:45 to play.
“Avery has the heart of a lion out there,” O’Neal said. “She competed. I thought she took a terrible beating tonight for four quarters. There was a play in the second half she got hit right in the side of the mouth. I think that might have taken her out of the game.
“I’ll have to watch the film to see what happened, but she competed. Just like all of our kids competed. She plays as hard as she can play for as long as she’s out there.”
Miller was the only Camper in double figures. Taylor added nine points, and Amanda Vizza scored six off the bench.
Lauer led Berlin with 18 points, making four 3-pointers, Prosser tallied 15 with three 3s, Elena Ritchey added 10 off the bench, and Taylor Hillegass chipped in eight in limited minutes due to foul trouble.
Allegany (1-0 City League) hosts Fort Hill (2-11, 1-1 city) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and can clinch the city title with a win.