CUMBERLAND — After a competitive start, Allegany’s suffocating defense turned Wednesday’s city league clash into a rout.
The Campers, leading 5-4 early, embarked on a 28-3 run, a stretch that included 13 minutes and 25 seconds where Fort Hill did not make a shot from the field.
Braylin Bosley and Amanda Vizza took care of the scoring with 12 points each, and fourth-ranked Allegany ground out a 49-13 romp of Fort Hill.
“Really impressed how hard our kids played for 32 minutes, no letdown,” Allegany head coach Jim O’Neal said. “I felt like the intensity, the pressure was there the whole time, and the kids were in position. At no time did I feel we dipped.
“We were consistent in what we were trying to do, and it was fun to watch so many kids go out there and be successful.”
Allegany improved to 9-1 overall and 3-0 in the Western Maryland Athletic Conference. Fort Hill fell to 5-8, 0-3 in the WestMAC.
The Campers led 13-6 after the first quarter, which proved to be their worst defensively. Allegany held Fort Hill to just one point in the second period and three in each the third and fourth stanzas.
Defensive performances like Wednesday have become commonplace for the Campers. Allegany is first in the area in points allowed at 28.1 points per game.
“We practice defense every day,” said Vizza. “We really focus on if we have to help-side defense. That was one of our big things tonight.”
Another key Wednesday was to deny deep paint touches to Fort Hill, one of the biggest teams in the area.
Fort Hill’s leading scorer on the season, forward Caniyah Plummer, was held scoreless, and the Sentinels could scarcely get her the ball on the block.
With Allegany playing tight full-court man-to-man defense, Fort Hill had just half the shot clock on many possessions to get into its offense.
Fort Hill’s Addison Furstenberg made a jumper with 57.5 seconds left in the first quarter. Aubrey Fultz made the team’s next bucket, a 3-pointer, at the 3:33 mark of the third quarter.
Allegany, which led 28-7 at the half, scored 37 of 43 points after the 5-4 start to take a 42-10 edge into the fourth.
“I thought we struggled offensively,” Fort Hill head coach Mike Allen said. “We knew that their pressure defense would be a struggle. We worked on it, and we weren’t able to execute against it. Hats off to them playing good defense.”
A 3-pointer by Madi Cannon gave Allegany a 45-10 edge to kick off the running clock with 5:23 remaining, and the Campers pulled their starters with four minutes to play.
Allegany center Julia Imes finished with eight points, and Cannon added seven. The Campers made six 3-pointers, paced by Vizza’s three.
Aubry Spangler was Fort Hill’s high scorer with five points.
Allegany’s rout Wednesday pushed its winning streak over Fort Hill to six games.
“It’s always going to be a good game when you play crosstown rivals,” said Allegany senior Myia Miller, who battled valiantly down low against Fort Hill’s taller front. “You just have to come in and know what you’re doing.”
The Campers host Windber, Pennsylvania, on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Fort Hill heads to Morgantown Christian on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
The Sentinels have struggled as of late, losing 3 of 4 games, but Allen still has faith Fort Hill can turn its season around.
“They play hard, we just haven’t figured it out yet, and really I think we will,” he said. “I don’t know when that’s going to be, but if we get clicking, which I think we will, it’s going to be fun, and we just haven’t got there yet.”