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Campbell again comes through in the clutch

Commentary

HERSHEY — Bellwood-Antis junior star Alli Campbell doesn’t want the credit when the Lady Blue Devils win, but she wants to shoulder the load when they rarely lose.

A lot of star players say that, but when Campbell does, you can tell she’s sincere.

Campbell once again led her team to a PIAA Class 2A state title Thursday at the Giant Center, scoring 21 of her game-high 24 points in the second half of a 66-57 win over West Middlesex.

Bellwood made it all the way to the state semifinals when Campbell was a freshman and has now won the first two state basketball titles in program history in back-to-back years.

She continues to amaze those who haven’t seen much of her.

“She’s, wow, I’m not sure she was inbounds on a few of those shots, because she was so far out,” West Middlesex coach Mike Williams said. “I’m joking about being inbounds, but wow, great job by her. She was so deep on that one. She’s phenomenal.”

Long-time Mercer County broadcast journalist Bob Greenburg added Campbell to a list of less than five players he’s been most impressed with in his decades-long career after the game.

Yet, Thursday’s performance was just a glimpse of what Campbell is capable of.

The victory over West Middlesex went more along the lines of what Campbell prefers. Her teammates excelled, and Campbell did her part. For the record, this happens more often than not. Sakeria Haralson, Riley D’Angelo and Emilie Leidig are all stars.

But there were occasions this postseason where Campbell needed to do it almost on her own.

Last year’s 34-point performance against West Catholic in the state final to pull out a three-point win was an example of what was to come in close games. When the pressure is on, Campbell is at her best.

Campbell scored nine of the last 11 Bellwood points in a second-round victory over Mount Carmel in a game the Lady Blue Devils won by two points. She also came away with the game-clinching rebound.

Then, against York Catholic in the quarterfinals, Campbell sensed it wasn’t her teammates night and scored 12 of Bellwood’s 15 points in the first half to keep them close in a game the Lady Devils could have been down double digits at halftime.

“When you look at her and Sakeria both, they save their best games for big moments,” Swaney said. “Anyone who has seen our playoff run knows that. Look back at Bishop McCort in the quarterfinals of our own districts. Campbell takes over games when they’re on the line.”

In the semifinals, Mahanoy Area’s student section drew the ire of Campbell, and she opened the game by scoring seven of the first 10 points in a 10-2 run. Once her team was in control, Campbell settled into the offense and scored what could be described as a quiet 29 points.

She’s already scored more than 2,100 points and will likely break every major scoring record at her school and in Blair County, but she’d much rather see a teammate like Riley D’Angelo hit 1,000 career points like she did earlier in the playoffs.

We only have one more year to watch her in Blair County before she’s off to Notre Dame. Any trip to see Campbell will leave you impressed, but if you happen to be there on a night when her team is in trouble?

Pull out the video camera on your iPhone and start recording, because something special is about to happen.

Michael Boytim can be reached at mboytim@altoonamirror.com or 946-7521.

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