HERSHEY – Hot-shooting Bellwood-Antis won its second-straight PIAA Class 2A championship with Thursday’s 66-57 win at Giant Center.
The Blue Devils (27-3) shot 50 percent from 3-point range (12-for-24) to hold off District 10 champion West Middlesex (26-4). It’s the program’s second state title.
Point guard Alli Campbell had a game-high 24 points for the District 6 champion Blue Devils. The Notre Dame recruit hit a game-high four 3s and added six steals.
“I have so many different emotions, and I’m so happy right now,” said Campbell, last year’s Gatorade Pennsylvania player of the year. “I’m excited, happy, and I’m so proud of these girls. All of this hard work paid off again for the second year in a row, and I’m just so thankful to play with this group of girls. I couldn’t ask for any better.”
Bellwood-Antis drilled seven 3-pointers in the first half and led 27-23 at the break. Leading 36-28 early in the third, Campbell and Riley D’Angelo (8 points) hit back-to-back 3s to put the Blue Devils ahead 42-28.
Campbell, the 2018 Pa. Class 2A player of the year, had 21 of her 24 points after halftime.
“Coach was lifting me up, actually the whole team was lifting me up, and they told me that it was coming,” said Campbell, on her strong second half. “I just kept confident, I kept calm, I stayed the course and I just kept shooting.”
Trailing 51-38, West Middlesex engineered a 7-0 run to close the fourth quarter with Makennah White scoring all seven points. The 6-foot White finished with 18 points and 15 rebounds.
West Middlesex trimmed the deficit to six midway through the fourth period, but Campbell popped in 11 fourth-quarter points to help ice the 66-57 victory.
Sakeria Haralson added 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting for the winners. Karsyn Rupert and Grace Mild had 13 and 10 points, respectively, for West Middlesex.
“It’s the best thing,” said Bellwood-Antis coach Jim Swaney, on winning the state title. “It’s a long grind. People don’t realize just how long it is and how hard it is. We’ve had a target on our back all year and these kids have just kept working and they persevered and they weren’t to be denied today.”
West Middlesex 9-14-22-12 – 57
Bellwood-Antis 8-19-24-15 – 66
Big Red (57) – Taylor Tomko 2-2-7, Makennah White 7-4-18, Emily Anthony 3-0-7, Karsyn Rupert 6-1-13, Grace Mild 4-2-10, Carllie Beatty 1-0-2. 3-point field goals: Tomko, Anthony. Totals: 23-9-57
Blue Devils (66) – Riley D’Angelo 2-2-8, Jaydyn Shuke 1-0-3, Emilie Leidig 3-0-8, Alli Campbell 7-6-24, Sakeria Haralson 7-0-14, Macy Decker 3-0-9. 3-point field goals: Campbell 4, Decker 3, D’Angelo 2, Leidig 2, Shuke 1. Totals: 23-8-66